APC chieftain says party will support only its own candidates as political alliance debate intensifies ahead of 2027
MAKURDI — An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Joe Anderson, has expressed regret over the party’s political association with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as debate over alliances ahead of the 2027 general elections continues to intensify.
Anderson made the remarks in Benue on Tuesday while speaking on the emerging political alignments ahead of the elections.
The APC chieftain said the party’s priority would remain the support and promotion of candidates who are bona fide members of the APC, stressing that the party would not abandon its own candidates in favour of any coalition arrangement.
“We are regretting our association with FCT Wike,” Anderson declared.
He said the APC should remain focused on strengthening its structures and supporting candidates contesting elections under the party’s platform rather than entering into arrangements that could create uncertainty over its candidates.
Anderson’s comments come amid an ongoing debate among political actors over the role of the proposed Rainbow Coalition and the question of whether politicians can support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the 2027 presidential election while backing candidates from other parties in governorship and legislative contests.
Wike, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who currently serves in the APC-led Federal Government, has publicly expressed support for Tinubu’s re-election.
The former Rivers State governor has also defended the idea of a broad political coalition, arguing that support for Tinubu at the presidential level does not necessarily require political parties and politicians to abandon their own candidates in other elections.
The position has attracted opposition from APC governors, who have said they would not support political arrangements capable of weakening the APC or affecting the party’s candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Progressive Governors’ Forum has maintained that APC governors will support the party’s candidates, while the disagreement has increasingly brought Wike into direct political confrontation with some members of the ruling party.
Wike has rejected the governors’ criticism of the Rainbow Coalition and has described the APC governors as “politically lazy” in recent remarks.
The FCT minister has also maintained that his political activities are focused on mobilising support for Tinubu rather than taking over or weakening the APC.
The latest comments from Anderson add to the growing debate over whether the ruling party can accommodate political actors who support Tinubu while maintaining allegiance to opposition parties or broader political coalitions.
For the APC chieftain, however, the party’s electoral strategy should remain centred on its own structures and candidates.
He said the party would not support candidates simply because they were part of a wider political arrangement, insisting that APC members contesting elective positions should receive the party’s backing.
The disagreement is unfolding as political parties and politicians begin positioning themselves for the 2027 elections, with questions over alliances, defections and cross-party support expected to remain prominent in the months ahead.
IBN News reports that the emerging dispute reflects a wider disagreement over the relationship between support for President Tinubu’s re-election and loyalty to individual political parties and their candidates, with different political actors adopting different positions on how the 2027 elections should be contested.
