The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State, Austin Onyedebelu, has accused Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, of using the Rainbow Coalition to revive the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and advance what he described as the minister’s presidential ambition.

Onyedebelu made the allegations in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday, amid an escalating disagreement between Wike and APC governors over the coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Imo APC chairman also described Wike as a “threat to Nigeria’s democracy” and urged him to formally join the APC if he genuinely intends to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

Wike remains a member of the PDP but has been serving as FCT minister under the APC-led Federal Government. He has said the Rainbow Coalition is a cross-party platform established to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election, rather than an APC structure.

Onyedebelu argued that Wike could not simultaneously remain in the PDP while operating politically in support of the APC-led administration.

“There is no provision in the Electoral Act that says one can be a member of two political parties at the same time,” he said.

“If Wike wants to work for Mr President, he should join his train. You cannot be at the end of two roads and say you are heading east.”

The comments come against the backdrop of growing tension between Wike and the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma.

APC governors have said they would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the party or its candidates ahead of the 2027 elections. At a recent meeting, the governors said their campaign efforts would remain focused on APC candidates at all levels.

Wike, however, has rejected the suggestion that the Rainbow Coalition is designed to undermine the APC.

In a statement issued through his media aide, Lere Olayinka, Wike said his objective was to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election. He also said he had never promised that the PDP or other parties participating in the coalition would not field candidates for governorship and legislative elections.

Onyedebelu nevertheless accused the FCT minister of attempting to use the coalition to rebuild the PDP while keeping alive an alleged presidential ambition.

He also criticised Wike for his recent comments about APC leaders, particularly Uzodimma, and alleged that the minister’s actions were motivated by political interests.

Former Imo Deputy Governor and PDP senatorial candidate for Imo East, Eze Madumere, offered a different assessment of the controversy.

Madumere described Wike as an exceptional politician and argued that his support for Tinubu while remaining in the PDP was consistent with democratic political participation.

He said Wike had made his support for Tinubu clear since the 2023 presidential election, when the five aggrieved PDP governors known as the G5 declined to support the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Madumere also defended the Rainbow Coalition, saying Wike had charted a political course for those who supported Tinubu’s presidential bid while remaining free to pursue their interests in other elections.

The disagreement reflects a broader dispute over whether politicians can support Tinubu’s presidential bid while backing candidates from other parties in governorship and legislative contests.

Wike has maintained that voters and political actors should be free to support Tinubu at the presidential level while choosing candidates from other parties in other elections.

With the 2027 elections approaching, the competing positions have placed the Rainbow Coalition at the centre of an increasingly public debate over political alliances, party loyalty and the organisation of the presidential and down-ballot contests.