2027: Umo Eno backs Wike’s Rainbow Coalition for Tinubu

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has declared support for the Rainbow Coalition led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. Eno said he was willing to join any political coalition whose central objective was to secure Tinubu’s return to office in the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking during a media chat on Saturday, the governor said he had thrown his weight behind the Rainbow Coalition, describing it as a platform for supporting the president. “That Rainbow Coalition is simply saying that we support President Tinubu as the president,” Eno said. He added: “If I will join and be a member of any coalition — whether it is Rainbow, call it any name.

Any coalition that the central point is supporting the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu; I am for it.” The governor also said the relationship between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State remained cordial, noting that both parties had reached an understanding on their political direction ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to him, the arrangement involves supporting Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and himself in the forthcoming elections. “I will work with all of them, and I think we are good on the ground in Akwa Ibom when it comes to the PDP-APC relationship,” he said. “We have agreed on the fact that we are supporting the president, we are supporting the Senate President, we are supporting the governor, and we have our clear understanding about those things.” BACK STORY The Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political movement associated with Wike, has generated differing reactions within the APC, particularly over its implications for the party’s structures and candidates ahead of the 2027 general election.

In September, APC leaders in the South-East backed the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF) in insisting that all party candidates should receive support in the 2027 elections. The leaders also rejected what they described as the “Rainbow (chameleon) Coalition”, warning that the party would resist any attempt to undermine its structures in the region.

Their position followed the PGF’s declaration that it would not support any alliance or political arrangement capable of undermining Tinubu’s re-election bid or the electoral prospects of APC candidates. The governors were reportedly referring to the Rainbow Coalition, which Wike, a PDP member, has been promoting as a cross-party platform. In January, Wike said the coalition represented a departure from conventional party politics towards a collective political movement focused on advancing the interests of the state.

Similarly, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, warned APC members in the state in October against working with political coalitions outside the party. Uzodimma threatened to withdraw vehicles provided to campaigners who violated the directive. He, however, pledged to work with the movement to secure Tinubu’s re-election, saying his administration had assessed the president’s performance and supported continuity to enable him to consolidate ongoing reforms.