Uzodimma Says No Rainbow Coalition in Imo State

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has stated that there is no Rainbow Coalition Movement in the state.

Uzodimma emphasized that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will win the 2027 elections for all positions in the state.

He made these comments on Tuesday during the launch of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement in Imo State and the handover of campaign vehicles to the group in Owerri, the state capital.

The PBAT Door-to-Door Movement is a support group focused on re-electing President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

The event was shown live on Channels TV, which was followed by PREMIUM TIMES.

Uzodimma gave the campaign vehicles to the group and urged them to stay loyal to the APC. He asked them to work only for the success of Tinubu and all party candidates in next year’s elections.

“The PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, listen to me,” he said.

“You’re members of the APC. If I see you working outside the APC, I’ll take the vehicles back from you,” the governor warned.

“You’re to work for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC. There’s no rainbow coalition in Imo State.”

Uzodimma claimed he does not need the Rainbow Coalition Movement to win for Tinubu in Imo. He believes the president will get “organic votes” in the 2027 elections.

The governor stated that the APC is the “only recognized” party in the state. He encouraged supporters to vote for the party’s candidates at all levels in the 2027 elections.

Uzodimma and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, have been clashing over the Rainbow Coalition Movement.

Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, runs the Rainbow Coalition, which is a multi-party political effort to support Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

The APC governors, through the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), have strongly opposed this coalition. They say it could harm the party and its candidates before the 2027 elections.

Uzodimma chairs the PGF. He has secured the APC’s ticket for Imo West District even though his time as governor ends in January 2028, six months after the next Senate starts in June 2027.

Wike is officially part of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but he operates under the APC-led government.

Wike argues that the Rainbow Coalition Movement will only work for Tinubu’s re-election. His party, the PDP, aims to win other offices.

But Uzodimma and other APC governors insist that this setup will hurt the election chances of other APC candidates.

Wike accused Uzodimma, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State of opposing the Rainbow Coalition Movement for “selfish reasons.”

He claimed that these governors fear the coalition could stop them from winning for their chosen APC senatorial and House of Representatives candidates.

Wike said some politicians, including current lawmakers, got PDP tickets after the governors allegedly denied them APC tickets.

He pointed out that the governors are worried that those who got PDP tickets after losing APC tickets could disrupt their political plans if they win in the elections.

Wike then accused Uzodimma of opposing the coalition mainly because he thinks it could threaten his ambition to become Senate President.