Onoh, in a statement made available to journalists in Lagos, said the current dispute was rooted in the difficulty of reconciling Wike’s support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election with the PDP’s decision to field candidates against APC candidates in governorship and legislative elections.
The APC Governors Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, recently resolved that its members would not support any political arrangement capable of weakening the APC or affecting its candidates in the 2027 elections.
Wike, however, has maintained that his Rainbow Coalition is focused on mobilising support for Tinubu and is not an APC arrangement. He also said he never promised that the PDP would withdraw from other elections.
“What I said and stand for is that I will mobilise support for the re-election of the President. I never promised anyone that PDP will not field candidates to contest governorship, National Assembly and state House of Assembly elections,” Wike said.
Reacting to the development, Onoh said the position had created a political contradiction that could affect relations between Wike and APC governors.
He argued that while Wike was asking politicians across party lines to support Tinubu for the presidency, the PDP remained positioned to contest against APC candidates in other elections.
According to Onoh, this was the central reason the APC governors were resisting the Rainbow Coalition.
He said Wike’s current political position should also be viewed against the background of his previous involvement in political alliances and conflicts within the PDP.
Onoh recalled Wike’s tenure as chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area between 1999 and 2007 and his subsequent appointment as Chief of Staff to former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.
He also recalled Wike’s role as Minister of State for Education under former President Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that he became a key figure in the political confrontation between the Jonathan administration and Amaechi.
Onoh further cited Wike’s role in the G5 governors’ opposition to the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the 2023 election.
He said the episode showed that Wike had previously been willing to pursue political arrangements outside the immediate interests of his party when disagreements arose.
Onoh said the G5’s actions contributed to divisions within the PDP and alleged that the APC benefited from the split during the 2023 presidential election.
He said, “Once again, Wike acted as an instrument of destruction, breaking his own party's backbone to the strategic advantage of higher external political beneficiaries, and we, the APC, have rewarded him immensely and he shouldn't take that gesture as a sign of weakness.”
Onoh said the present disagreement differed from the 2023 G5 arrangement because Wike was now operating from within an APC-led Federal Government while retaining his membership of the PDP.
He argued that this had made his political activities more sensitive to APC governors, who are preparing for elections in their respective states.
The former presidential aide also questioned the political implications of the PDP’s decision to field candidates for the 2027 governorship and legislative elections.
He said Wike’s support for Tinubu could potentially exist alongside PDP candidates contesting against APC candidates, creating what he described as conflicting political interests.
Onoh said the Presidency should address the issue before it develops into a deeper disagreement between the Federal Government and APC governors.
He said, “No administration can successfully govern or secure a national mandate by alienating the formal party executives and governors who command the legal machinery of our ruling party.”
Onoh also criticised Wike’s comments on the voting pattern in the South-East during the 2023 presidential election, arguing that the region’s support for Peter Obi reflected strong local political dynamics.
He said Wike’s criticism of South-East governors for not delivering their states to Tinubu failed to account for the strength of Obi’s regional support at the time.
On Wike’s administration of the Federal Capital Territory, Onoh also urged the minister to recognise that Abuja’s political and administrative environment differed from that of Rivers State, particularly because of the presence of diplomatic missions and international organisations.
He further referred to Wike’s previous political dispute with his successor as Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, as part of what he described as a long history of political confrontation.
Onoh said the Presidency should weigh the implications of allowing the Rainbow Coalition to operate independently of the APC while seeking support for Tinubu’s presidential bid.
His comments come as the dispute between Wike and APC governors continues to generate reactions from politicians across party lines.
While APC governors have said their campaign commitment will be to Tinubu and APC candidates at all levels, Wike has insisted that supporting Tinubu does not prevent other parties from contesting the governorship and legislative elections.
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