Rainbow Coalition: Ewenla Tackles Wike, Demands Political Clarity

…As PDP chieftain says party identity, structures must be treated with seriousness

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West, Dr. Adedipe Ewenla, has questioned the political identity and party loyalty of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over his continued association with the PDP and his involvement in the “Rainbow Coalition” in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ewenla, in a statement, said Wike’s political activities had raised questions about party loyalty, political identity and respect for the internal structures of political parties in the country.

He also noted that the APC Governors Forum had publicly distanced itself from the Rainbow Coalition, saying the forum had maintained that its members would not support any political arrangement capable of undermining the APC, its candidates or the President’s re-election bid.

The PDP chieftain further cited the position of Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, who, according to him, had called on Wike to clarify his political allegiance.

Ewenla questioned how a political arrangement being promoted in support of the APC could simultaneously be presented as a PDP affair, describing the situation as one that could further deepen questions surrounding the identity and institutional integrity of the PDP.

On Wike’s membership of the PDP, Ewenla recalled that at the party’s national convention held in Ibadan in November 2025, Wike and members of his faction were expelled from the party, with certificates of expulsion subsequently issued to them.

He, however, acknowledged that some former PDP governors, including Ahmadu Fintiri and Caleb Mutfwang, had rejected or distanced themselves from the decision, making Wike’s current membership status part of the wider leadership and legal controversy within the party.

Ewenla also discussed the leadership crisis within the PDP, noting that the faction led by Tanimu Turaki, SAN, had maintained that the party required a recognised interim national structure to address the leadership vacuum.

He said the Turaki-led bloc announced an Interim National Working Committee in May 2026, following a meeting of its National Executive Committee, with Turaki emerging as Interim National Chairman from the perspective of that faction.

The PDP South-West Ex-officio said the controversy was not about whether politicians could form alliances or support candidates across party lines, but about political consistency and institutional clarity.

Ewenla urged the PDP to resolve its leadership and membership disputes through its constitution, duly constituted organs, the courts where necessary and the established electoral framework, stressing that political parties should be treated as institutions rather than personal properties.