Wike’s Rainbow Coalition vital to Tinubu, says Eradiri

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

Former President, Ijaw Youths Council Worldwide, Udengs Eradiri, has described Nyesom Wike’s Rainbow Coalition as a potentially significant political platform for mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Eradiri urged supporters of the President, including All Progressives Congress governors, to work with the coalition rather than regard it as a threat to the party’s political structure.

His comments came amid growing tension between Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and some APC governors over the coalition, which the minister says is designed to mobilise support for Tinubu across party lines.

Eradiri said the coalition could complement the APC’s existing structures by reaching voters and political interests beyond the ruling party.

“Wike and his Rainbow Coalition should be seen as an added advantage to Tinubu’s re-election because the Rainbow Coalition was formed solely to work for Mr President and not to advance the interest of any governor,” he said.

He described Wike’s initiative as a political alliance capable of bringing together supporters of Tinubu from different parties and urged other political leaders to consider similar mobilisation strategies.

“Out of sheer ingenuity, Wike developed the Rainbow concept, which has gained traction as a powerful force of alliance,” Eradiri said.

He also urged other governors and political leaders backing Tinubu to develop alliances that could broaden the President’s support base ahead of the election.

“I encourage other governors to think out of the box and develop similar concepts that will aid mobilisation and deliver bulk votes to President Tinubu in 2027,” he said.

Eradiri’s comments come a day after Wike reaffirmed that his Rainbow Coalition was focused on Tinubu’s re-election and was not an arrangement with the APC.

Wike said the coalition was a platform for members of different political parties who support Tinubu, stressing that it had no role in determining who would win governorship, National Assembly or State House of Assembly elections.

“The coalition is a platform for other political parties that are pleased with the good works of Tinubu and are supporting his re-election. It has nothing to do with APC,” Wike said.

The minister also said he had never promised that the Peoples Democratic Party would not field candidates in other elections, insisting that his personal political focus for 2027 was Tinubu’s presidential re-election.

Eradiri said Wike’s position made the coalition relevant to the broader campaign for Tinubu and urged APC governors not to allow political disagreements to undermine cross-party mobilisation.

“The Minister has said that his interest is the re-election of the President. Therefore, the governors, who genuinely love the President, are expected to work with him to actualise that sole interest,” he said.

He added: “Wike has remained a pillar and a backbone to the President and whoever is working for the re-election of the President is expected to support Wike.”

Eradiri further urged Wike to expand the coalition ahead of 2027, arguing that the presidential campaign would require mobilisation across political boundaries.

“The Minister’s Rainbow Coalition is making impact and I encourage him to keep expanding the frontiers of the group because the re-election of the President cannot be left to chance,” he said.

The comments add another voice to the increasingly public debate over how Wike’s cross-party mobilisation should relate to the APC’s own structures as political parties prepare for the 2027 elections.