President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may intervene in the growing disagreement between Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), with a presidential aide indicating that discussions could take place in France.

The development comes amid an increasingly public disagreement over Wike’s political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly his promotion of a Rainbow Coalition aimed at supporting Tinubu’s re-election.

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A senior presidential aide familiar with the matter told The PUNCH that Tinubu was expected to engage the two sides in an effort to resolve their differences and prevent the disagreement from escalating. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly.

Tinubu is currently on vacation in France, and the source said a possible intervention could take place abroad before the end of the week. The report describes this as a proposed intervention rather than a confirmed meeting between the President and the parties.

Tinubu May Seek Common Ground Between Wike, APC Governors

The disagreement centres partly on the political implications of Wike’s Rainbow Coalition.

Wike, a former Rivers State governor and prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), currently serves as FCT Minister in the APC-led Federal Government. He has said his political activities are focused on supporting Tinubu’s bid for a second term in 2027.

However, APC governors have expressed a different position, maintaining that their political commitment extends to the party’s candidates at all levels.

At a meeting of the Progressive Governors Forum in Abuja on September 14, Imo State Governor and forum chairman Hope Uzodimma said APC governors would not support any alliance or political arrangement that could undermine the party or its candidates.

Uzodimma said the governors would remain committed to APC candidates across the presidential, governorship and legislative contests.

The position has brought the governors into direct political disagreement with Wike, who has argued that supporting Tinubu for president does not require him to support APC candidates contesting other positions.

Wike has also maintained that he never approached the APC Governors Forum to seek an alliance. In an interview with ARISE News, he said his stated objective was to support Tinubu’s presidential campaign while allowing political parties to contest other elections.

The FCT minister has criticised the governors’ opposition to his political arrangement, while some APC figures have in turn questioned his role in party affairs because he is not an APC member.

The dispute has also generated concerns within sections of the APC. On September 17, APC leaders in the South-East backed the Progressive Governors Forum and called on Wike to apologise over remarks they considered disrespectful to the governors.

Beyond the immediate disagreement over the 2027 elections, The PUNCH reported that two APC leaders linked the dispute to wider political calculations involving the 2031 presidency, the prospective leadership of the 11th National Assembly and Wike’s support for candidates challenging some APC governors and their allies. These claims were attributed to the party sources rather than independently established as fact.

The presidential aide who spoke to The PUNCH said Tinubu’s intervention would be aimed at finding common ground between the minister and the governors.

According to the source, both sides ultimately say they are working in support of the President, making reconciliation important from the administration’s perspective.

“There will be an intervention to broker a truce and resolve whatever differences exist between them, ensuring that all parties work together ahead of the coming election,” the aide said.

The reported development comes as political preparations for the 2027 elections intensify, with disagreements over alliances, candidate selection and party structures becoming increasingly visible.

For now, however, the reported presidential intervention remains a proposed effort disclosed by an anonymous aide. No confirmed details of a meeting between Tinubu, Wike and the APC governors have been publicly announced in the cited report.