Ondo APC elders reject Wike’s Rainbow Coalition

The PBAT Mandate Elders Forum in Ondo State has rejected the need for the proposed Rainbow Coalition arrangement associated with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, insisting that the All Progressives Congress (APC) can win all elective positions in the state without surrendering any of its candidates.

The position appears to differ from that of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who had earlier defended the coalition arrangement, saying there was nothing wrong with political alliances as long as they supported President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.

Aiyedatiwa, while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on October 5, had said, “Politics is about interests, relationships, and alliances, there is nothing wrong with having a coalition or alliances,” adding that there was nothing wrong if the arrangement was a support group for Tinubu’s re-election.

However, Chairman of the PBAT Mandate Elders Forum in Ondo State, Demola Ijabiyi, said on Wednesday that although the elders welcomed cooperation with other political parties to secure Tinubu’s victory, such an arrangement must not come at the expense of APC candidates in the state.

Addressing journalists after the forum’s meeting, Ijabiyi said the Rainbow Coalition might be necessary in some states but was not applicable to Ondo, where the APC controlled the state government and all local government councils.

He said, “We, the elders of APC, are saying that we don’t need it in Ondo State. That’s the bottom line. We don’t need it. We can win without coalition.”

The APC chieftain explained that the coalition was designed to bridge the electoral weaknesses of political parties through reciprocal support, but maintained that Ondo APC had no constituency where it was incapable of winning elections.

He said the party had no reason to threaten its candidates or surrender constituencies to other political parties, particularly when the PDP, which he described as its major political opponent, had weakened considerably.

He also warned APC members supporting candidates of other political parties against engaging in what he described as anti-party activities.