The Director-general of the Presidential Support Organisation, Umar Jijiwa, has described the emerging “rainbow coalition” as an evolution in Nigerian politics, saying it challenges outdated political ideas and creates room for broader alliances.
The development comes amid growing discussions among political parties and figures over the formation of a broad “rainbow coalition” ahead of the 2027 general elections, an idea championed by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to encourage politicians across party lines to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Speaking during an interview on Arise News, Jijiwa said the emergence of the “rainbow coalition” reflects the changing nature of politics in Nigeria, arguing that old political ideas should give way to broader forms of cooperation.
“First of all, you have to understand something here. Politics itself is evolving—just like every other thing in this world, it is evolving even in Nigeria. That’s why today you can say, ‘Let’s do a rainbow coalition,’ because that is what we call evolution in politics.
“Based on that, some of these archaic ideas of politics, which I believe should have expired a long time ago, are holding us back instead of bringing more people together.”
Responding to Wike’s description of the APC governors as “politically lazy,” Jijiwa defended the FCT Minister’s position, arguing that Wike, as a PDP member, could not be expected to stop his party from fielding candidates against the APC.
“First of all, for Wike to say they are ‘politically lazy,’ the reason he said that was because, as far as he is concerned, he is not in the APC, and you cannot expect him not to field candidates in their own party. What is the use of having their party? Everybody has seen how he has fought, working for Asiwaju while still being in the PDP. Why? Because of Asiwaju. And when you hear Wike’s reason for doing that for Asiwaju, it’s because he believes in zoning and that it was time for the South. At that point, the PDP refused to give it to the South, and that was why it started.”
Jijiwa backed Wike’s claim that the PDP had denied the South its presidential ticket, citing the 2019 election, but clarified that he does not believe zoning should be treated as a permanent political principle, describing it as an outdated idea alongside consensus arrangements.
“No, it is particularly correct. You know why? Because in the 2019 election, due to the respect that people had for zoning, there was no single Southern candidate that ran for president in 2019.
“Myself, I believe this is so old-school as well, and some of these ideas should be extinct—such as zoning and consensus.”
On whether President Bola Ahmed Tinubu endorses the “rainbow coalition”, Jijiwa said the President would support political moves that advance his interests ahead of the 2027 election, while arguing that political loyalties can shift over time.
“President Tinubu is going to endorse anything that is going to give him a political advantage because he’s going into a competition. That’s understandable.
“Let’s not forget: people can change their beliefs; in fact, people can even change their religion or their name, and they have the right to do so.
“They have followers, and it is too dangerous to allow them to become an asset to the ADC or NDC. So as far as I’m concerned, it’s better to let them go to the Wike faction or the PDP. At least we know we are not going to expect any bullet from that area.”
Declining to comment on calls for Wike to support the PDP presidential candidate, Jijiwa said he was an APC member and could only speak to what was happening within his own party, adding that the APC had repeatedly taken advantage of the political opportunities created by Wike’s activities.
“I’m not going to align it or place it because I’m not a member of their party; I’m in the APC. So I don’t know what they meant when they said that. I know what is happening in my house, not your house.
“If you are talking about political advantage, you can’t take away that Wike—the things that he does and what not—at the end of the day, the APC has actually been taking advantage of what he has been doing. I want Nigerians to know this: we have been taking advantage of political opportunities every single time, working for the APC.”
On Wike’s allegation that some APC governors are opposing the Rainbow Coalition because of their interest in controlling the next National Assembly leadership, particularly the Senate presidency and speakership, Jijiwa questioned the claim and said Wike had only promised to work for Tinubu’s re-election, not for the political ambitions of the governors.
“You want to talk about Governor Hope, right? He mentioned his name, and he accused him that he’s trying to run for Senate even while he’s still serving as governor. Let’s not forget, in Imo State, election cycles are different. So do you then work out of being a governor just to win an election?
“If people are threatened by Wike, then I think you should go and ask those people, because as far as he’s concerned, he only promised to work for Asiwaju and to deliver Asiwaju, not the governors. Let’s not forget, even here in the Presidential Support Organization, we said we are here to make sure Asiwaju wins.”
Jijiwa dismissed concerns that tensions between Wike and some APC governors could hurt Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, describing the situation as part of political competition and saying Wike’s involvement could ultimately be an advantage.
“He’s going to be of advantage. You can’t take that away from him. When these things come, it’s just politics and competition. In this game of politics itself, the things we have seen… Politics is cool, so when they are doing politics, leave it at politics because you will be shocked to find out that after fighting, that same day you see them together. It’s a competition.”
Asked whether the political activities surrounding the coalition were primarily about Tinubu, Wike or both, Jijiwa said political actions are invariably driven by interests, which could be personal, national or tied to broader political organisations.
“In the game of politics, you can never remove interest from whatever anyone does. Perhaps you might not know what that interest really is, but politics is a game of interest.
“Unfortunately, some people would rather think about personal interest, but that is also an interest as well. And then we also have national interest, which is also an interest. Even when you come to support organizations, it’s interest. That is politics.”
Speaking on the role of the Presidential Support Organisation ahead of 2027, the group’s director-general said its focus was on gathering data on support groups backing Tinubu, including those outside the APC, to help identify areas requiring attention and improve coordination.
“My candidate is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I have one job to do, and I just wish we had more support to do it, because it’s been quite difficult. My responsibility is simply to get data. We need to know how many support organizations we have, how many of them are for Asiwaju, and how many are not. We also have support organizations that are not in the APC, but they want to vote for Asiwaju; we must have that data as well so that we can be able to plan. When we plan, we need to know where we need to do this and where we need to do that. It’s not a rally; it’s actually hard work that we’re talking about here. We need data because it’s time that we bring science into the politics of this country. We need to evolve.”
On the dispute between the Wike camp and APC governors, Jijiwa said he expected President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene, suggesting that the tensions would not have escalated to their current level if the President were in the country.
“Yes. I’m sure this spat wouldn’t even be like this if he was around. The Wike faction, APC governors… Tinubu is a Muslim too, so he also knows he can have four wives. He’s strong enough to handle them all. It’s because he’s not around, and that’s why we’re having this issue.”
