The Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), comprising governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has rejected any political alliance or arrangement that could undermine President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid or weaken the party ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The governors declared that they would neither participate in, support nor endorse any political arrangement capable of creating competing interests within the ruling party or affecting APC candidates at any level.
The position was disclosed by the Chairman of the PGF and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, after a closed-door meeting of APC governors at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
The declaration comes amid growing political differences between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and some APC governors, particularly Uzodimma and Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been associated with opposition political figures and candidates as political alignments ahead of the 2027 elections continue to take shape.
Speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt earlier this month, Wike openly discussed his disagreements with Uzodimma and AbdulRazaq.
On AbdulRazaq, the minister alleged that the Kwara governor had been 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.
The minister also claimed that AbdulRazaq had accused him of sponsoring politicians against the governor’s preferred candidates in Kwara.
Wike argued that instead of criticising him, AbdulRazaq should recognise his role in providing political accommodation for aggrieved APC politicians who left the ruling party for the PDP.
According to Wike, some of the politicians could have joined the broader opposition coalition against Tinubu but instead chose to operate within the PDP, which he described as part of the political accommodation he had facilitated.
The development is significant in Kwara, where competing political interests have emerged over the succession of AbdulRazaq, who is currently serving his second term as governor.
Several APC governorship aspirants have previously raised concerns about the direction of the party in the state, while the G15 group of APC stakeholders has publicly challenged AbdulRazaq’s control of the party structure.
Wike has also accused Uzodimma of failing to reciprocate political support.
“Governor Hope, he knows the support I give to him,” Wike said, recalling that the Imo governor had at one point declined to support him.
The political differences have become more significant as Wike continues to maintain relationships with politicians outside the APC despite serving as a minister in the Tinubu administration.
In Imo State, Wike is supporting the PDP governorship candidate, while in Kwara he is backing Senator Saliu Mustapha in the Kwara Central senatorial contest against interests associated with Governor AbdulRazaq.
Mustapha, a former APC member, defected to the PDP after losing the APC ticket for the Kwara Central senatorial district to AbdulRazaq.
Against this backdrop, the APC governors have now drawn a clear line on their political commitments ahead of 2027.
Reading the communique issued after their meeting, Uzodimma said the governors had unanimously agreed to support candidates officially fielded by the APC at all levels.
“The APC Governors Forum unanimously resolved that its members will not participate in, support or endorse any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining the re-election of Mr President, weakening the APC or adversely affecting any candidate of the party at all levels,” Uzodimma said.
He added that the governors had no intention of supporting candidates contesting elections outside the APC platform.
“In other words, the forum has no intention to support any candidate at any level that is not an APC candidate because our candidates who are contesting the election are being sponsored by our party,” he said.
The governors said their campaign commitment would be exclusively directed towards APC candidates, with state-level campaign structures expected to align with President Tinubu’s re-election strategy and the broader objectives of the party.
The forum also disclosed that APC governors would play leading roles in mobilising support for Tinubu across their respective states as preparations intensify for the 2027 presidential election.
The proposed APC Presidential Campaign Council is expected to place significant emphasis on grassroots mobilisation, with governors expected to coordinate efforts to reach communities and engage different demographic groups.
The governors further pledged to strengthen internal party unity and harmonise campaign structures from the national level down to constituencies.
They also said they would continue implementing programmes in their respective states in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope agenda.
The governors’ declaration could further expose the political tension surrounding Wike’s continued engagement with opposition politicians and the emerging coalition politics ahead of the 2027 elections.
For the APC governors, however, the message is clear: political support from members of the ruling party must remain aligned with the party’s candidates and President Tinubu’s re-election bid.
