FEDERAL Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has named Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors he believes are working against him.
News Point Nigeria reports that Wike made the allegation during a media chat in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, while also dismissing suggestions that his political activities were aimed at undermining APC governors.
The minister’s remarks come against the backdrop of increasing political realignments ahead of the 2027 elections, with Wike remaining in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while openly supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
His relationship with some APC governors has consequently attracted attention, particularly as politicians across party lines position themselves around the emerging 2027 political configuration.
Wike’s strongest criticism was directed at AbdulRazaq, whom he accused of leading a campaign against him in political circles.
“Take for example, Kwara, he has been the one championing this campaign against me everywhere. Yes, I have confronted him too. I don’t talk about what I cannot defend,” Wike said.
According to the minister, AbdulRazaq had accused him of sponsoring politicians against the governor’s preferred candidates in Kwara.
Wike, however, said the governor should instead appreciate his role in providing a political platform for aggrieved APC figures who left the ruling party for the PDP.
He said such politicians could have joined the wider coalition opposed to Tinubu but chose to operate within the PDP, which he presented as evidence of the political accommodation he had provided.
The accusation comes as the Kwara APC faces intense manoeuvring over the state’s political succession ahead of 2027.
AbdulRazaq, who is serving his second term, has been at the centre of competing interests within the party over who succeeds him.
Several APC governorship aspirants had earlier raised concerns over the direction of the party in the state, while the G15 group of APC stakeholders subsequently mounted a public challenge to the governor’s leadership of the party structure.
The contest has also produced competing endorsements, with different groups within the party backing preferred candidates for the 2027 governorship election.
In August, the Coalition of Kwara APC Young Stakeholders and Supporters endorsed Speaker Salisu Yakubu Danladi as its preferred candidate while passing a vote of confidence in AbdulRazaq’s administration.
Wike’s allegation against Uzodinma was less detailed but equally direct.
“Governor Hope, he knows the support I give to him,” he said, recalling that the Imo governor had at one point declined to support him.
The relationship between the two politicians has previously included periods of political interaction, with Wike publicly defending Uzodinma’s position after the Supreme Court overturned Emeka Ihedioha’s election as Imo governor in 2020.
The latest exchange comes as Uzodinma has continued to occupy a prominent position within the APC’s political calculations in the South-East, while Wike has maintained his support for Tinubu despite remaining formally within the opposition PDP.
Wike, however, said the disagreements would not distract him from his stated objective of helping Tinubu secure another term in office.
He maintained that personal political disputes would not alter his commitment to the President’s re-election bid.
The former Rivers State governor also challenged those accusing him of working against APC governors to identify the support they had given him during his own political struggles.
He insisted that his political positions had never been hidden from the public.
“Any Nigerian who knows me knows that I have never hidden my intention,” Wike said.