Former South-East spokesman to President Bola Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has backed the Progressive Governors Forum’s rejection of political alliances involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, saying the All Progressives Congress must protect its structure and official candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Onoh, who is also chairman of the Forum of Former Members of the Enugu State House of Assembly, stated this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja.
He expressed support for the position of the Progressive Governors Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, describing the decision to reject Wike’s “Rainbow Coalition” as necessary for the protection of the APC’s political structure.
Onoh alleged that the coalition, despite its stated support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election, could create parallel political structures within the APC by supporting candidates associated with the Peoples Democratic Party against candidates officially sponsored by the APC.
He said such an arrangement could create confusion among party members and weaken the party’s campaign structure.
According to Onoh, “The Rainbow Coalition is not an act of benevolence. It is a calculated Greek gift wrapped in the noble guise of supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, while its internal architecture is designed to swallow the APC from within.”
He alleged that allowing the coalition to operate alongside the APC could “trigger internal rebellion, divide loyalties” and weaken the party’s structure if the APC leadership failed to address the matter.
Onoh further alleged that the coalition’s objectives extended beyond the 2027 election, claiming that it was being positioned to build political influence across several states.
He alleged that the longer-term objective was to secure greater political leverage ahead of 2031, including negotiations over the vice-presidential ticket if the presidency returned to the North and the vice presidency to the South.
Onoh said the APC was a structured political organisation governed by its constitution and that non-members should not be allowed to operate parallel political structures capable of undermining the party’s candidates.
He said supporting candidates outside the official APC structure could destabilise local chapters and weaken the unified campaign needed for the 2027 elections.
Onoh also linked the issue to what he described as the need to protect the political interests of the South ahead of 2031.
“Protection of the 2031 Southern interest is non-negotiable and cannot be hijacked by a single individual. We from the South will not allow our political future to be mortgaged by personal, predatory ambitions disguised as loyalty to the President,” he said.
He added that genuine support for Tinubu should involve strengthening the APC rather than creating independent political structures.
“True alignment with President Tinubu means strengthening the APC’s institutional structure, not building independent factions,” Onoh said.
Onoh commended the Progressive Governors Forum for rejecting alliances that could undermine APC candidates, saying the party should remain focused on its constitution and established structures.
He said, “The APC must remain a sovereign, disciplined entity that rewards its loyal party faithful rather than outsourcing its future to strategic opportunists, even when disguised as an individual cloaked in the stripes of a rainbow coalition.”
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