Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has declared that he will not support Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma’s reported ambition to become President of the Senate after the 2027 general elections.
Wike made the statement on Monday during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, while discussing the growing disagreement between him and some All Progressives Congress governors over the Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
The former Rivers State governor said his position was not based on personal considerations. He accused Uzodinma of using his position as Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum to influence the emergence of lawmakers who could subsequently determine the leadership of the National Assembly.
Wike said politicians who were denied tickets by the APC had begun seeking alternative platforms, including the Peoples Democratic Party, with the backing of his political structure.
He argued that if such candidates eventually won their elections, they would not necessarily be committed to supporting Uzodinma’s reported Senate presidency ambition.
“Life or death, I will never support Hope Uzodinma to become the Senate President of Nigeria,” Wike said, according to reports of the interview.
Wike also criticised the Imo governor over the handling of what he described as an internal political problem within the APC. He alleged that Uzodinma had contributed to the political difficulties and subsequently resorted to what Wike described as blackmail.
“You cause internal problem for yourself and you do not have the capacity to solve the problem and all you do is to resort to blackmail,” he said.
The minister further questioned the political calculations surrounding Uzodinma’s reported move from the governorship to the Senate after completing his tenure in Imo State.
Uzodinma is serving his second term as governor and is also the chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum, the platform comprising governors elected on the APC ticket. Reports have linked him to an interest in contesting for the Senate and potentially seeking the Senate presidency afterward.
Wike’s latest comments are part of an increasingly public disagreement between him and Uzodinma over the Rainbow Coalition.
Wike has maintained that the coalition is a cross-party platform intended to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027, while allowing political parties to field candidates for governorship and legislative elections.
His position has drawn criticism from some APC governors, who have expressed concern that a cross-party political structure could affect the party’s candidates in the 2027 elections. Wike, however, has continued to defend the arrangement.
The minister has also publicly stated that his political priority is Tinubu’s re-election, despite remaining a member of the PDP.
The dispute has therefore expanded beyond the question of the Rainbow Coalition itself to include competing political calculations over the composition and future leadership of the National Assembly.
While Wike has ruled out supporting Uzodinma for Senate President, the final leadership of the 11th National Assembly would ultimately depend on the outcome of the 2027 elections and subsequent decisions by elected lawmakers.
Neither the Senate presidency nor the composition of the next National Assembly has been determined at this stage.
