Isaac Samuel
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Forum has said its members will not support candidates contesting the 2027 general elections outside the ruling party.
The governors said they would neither participate in nor endorse any political alliance capable of weakening the APC, undermining President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid or affecting the party’s candidates at any level.
Chairman of the forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, disclosed this yesterday after a closed-door meeting of the governors at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja.
The declaration comes amid reported political differences between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and some APC governors, including Uzodimma and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been associated with opposition candidates in some states ahead of the 2027 elections.
In Imo, he is supporting the PDP governorship candidate, while in Kwara, he is backing Senator Saliu Mustapha in the Kwara Central senatorial contest against AbdulRazaq.
Mustapha, a former APC member, defected to the PDP after losing the APC ticket for the Kwara Central senatorial district to AbdulRazaq.
Wike had earlier spoken about his disagreements with Uzodimma and AbdulRazaq, accusing the Kwara governor of campaigning against him and alleging that he had supported politicians who left the APC for the PDP.
But reading the communiqué issued after the governors’ meeting, Uzodimma said the forum remained committed to the APC and its candidates.
“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,” he said.
Uzodimma added: “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.”
The governors also pledged to take leading roles in mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election through the proposed APC Presidential Campaign Council.
They said the campaign would focus on grassroots mobilisation, with efforts to engage communities and different demographic groups across the country.
The governors further resolved to strengthen internal party unity and harmonise campaign structures from the national level down to the constituencies.
They also pledged to continue driving development in their respective states in line with the administration’s Renewed Hope agenda.
