Nigeria’s 2027 political calculations are taking a new turn as three opposition parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, APGA and Accord, have backed the participation of their prominent members in the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.The development involves FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, all of whom belong to parties outside the APC.

The APC’s revised campaign council lists Mr Wike as coordinator for Rivers State and the FCT, Mr Soludo as coordinator for Anambra State, and Mr Adeleke as coordinator for Osun State.

Their inclusion is significant because Mr Wike remains a PDP chieftain, Mr Soludo belongs to APGA, while Mr Adeleke is a member of Accord.

The APC says the appointments are part of its strategy to build a broader political coalition ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

PDP gives Wike backing

The PDP said Mr Wike’s decision to support President Tinubu was not unexpected.

PDP National Publicity Secretary of the National Caretaker Committee, Jungudo Mohammed, said the party had previously given Mr Wike permission to work with the President.

He stressed that Mr Wike’s involvement in the APC campaign council does not make him a member of the APC National Working Committee.

According to Mr Mohammed, the minister is working for President Tinubu and not necessarily for the APC as a political party.

APGA backs Soludo

APGA has also openly endorsed Mr Soludo’s role.

The party said it had already adopted President Tinubu as its consensus presidential candidate for 2027 and therefore did not field a presidential candidate of its own.

APGA National Publicity Secretary, Ejimofor Opara, described Mr Soludo’s appointment as a reflection of the party’s position and its cooperation with the Federal Government.

The party, however, maintained that while it supports Mr Tinubu for President, APGA remains its platform for the Senate, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly elections in Anambra.

Accord supports Adeleke’s role

In Osun State, Accord chieftain and federal lawmaker Bamidele Salam described Mr Adeleke’s appointment to coordinate Mr Tinubu’s re-election campaign as a welcome development.

This comes shortly after Mr Adeleke secured re-election as Osun governor on the Accord platform.

The arrangement therefore creates a situation where a governor elected on an opposition platform will campaign for the presidential candidate of the APC while retaining his party identity at the state level.

APC says it is reaching across party lines

APC National Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, confirmed that the ruling party deliberately reached out to Mr Wike, Mr Soludo, Mr Adeleke and other opposition figures.

Mr Yilwatda said the APC approached them because it wanted their support for President Tinubu’s re-election despite the fact that they belong to other political parties.

He argued that the move is about bringing political stakeholders together in what the APC considers to be the national interest, rather than limiting the campaign strictly to APC members.

Wike: ‘Rainbow coalition has come to stay’

Mr Wike has meanwhile defended the cross-party arrangement, describing the Rainbow Coalition as a political movement bringing together APC members and supporters of President Tinubu from other parties.

He insisted that supporting Mr Tinubu for President does not mean opposition figures must automatically support APC candidates in every other election.

Mr Wike said the arrangement is designed around one major objective, the re-election of President Tinubu, while allowing politicians to maintain their identities and choices in other races.

The development highlights how fluid Nigeria’s political alignments have become ahead of the 2027 elections.

The APC is attempting to build a cross-party coalition around President Tinubu, while some opposition politicians are willing to support his presidential bid without formally joining the ruling party.

The major political test will be whether these alliances translate into actual votes and grassroots mobilisation in Rivers, Anambra, Osun and other strategic states.

For now, the message from the three parties is clear: support for Tinubu at the presidential level does not necessarily mean surrendering their own party platforms at the state and legislative levels.