SOKOTO PDP CANDIDATE CALLS FOR WIDER SUPPORT FOR RAINBOW COALITION

The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Alhaji Abdullah Sokoto Abubakar, has urged Nigerians to support political initiatives aimed at ensuring a free, fair and credible 2027 general election. Abubakar described the emerging Rainbow Coalition as part of Nigeria’s long history of political alliances and realignments, saying political groups have often come together to pursue shared objectives while retaining their individual identities.

The PDP candidate noted that similar arrangements had featured in previous election cycles, citing the AD-APP joint presidential ticket of Chief Olu Falae and Umaru Shinkafi in 1999, the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties ahead of the 2015 elections and the merger involving the ACN, CPC and ANPP that produced the All Progressives Congress. He said the experiences showed that coalitions were shaped by changing political circumstances, personalities and objectives, while parties and politicians could still maintain their separate identities.

Speaking on the current political realignment, Abubakar referred to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s description of the Rainbow Coalition as a multi-party platform seeking support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election. He noted Wike’s position that the coalition was not an APC structure and said concerns raised by some APC governors should be considered against the wider history of political alliances in the country. Abubakar urged APC governors and party leaders to adopt what he described as a pragmatic approach towards working with Wike.

The Sokoto PDP candidate also praised Wike, describing him as a national political figure with experience in grassroots mobilisation, while arguing that the focus should be on the objectives of the emerging coalition rather than debates over individual political influence. He also pointed to some policies and projects of the Tinubu administration, including Nigeria’s diplomatic response to the crisis in Niger Republic, foreign policy engagements, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway project, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Compressed Natural Gas programme.

Abubakar said political coalitions should be understood as another stage in Nigeria’s evolving democratic process and urged supporters of the Rainbow Coalition to clearly explain its objectives to Nigerians. He added that political alliances ultimately depend on public support expressed through the electoral process, as voters would determine the level of acceptance given to any platform during the 2027 elections.