The Sokoto State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abubakar Abdullahi Sokoto, has described the emerging Rainbow Coalition as part of Nigeria’s long tradition of political alliances and realignments.
Abdullahi, in a statement issued in Sokoto on Monday, said the controversy surrounding the coalition was not unusual, noting that similar political arrangements had shaped the country’s democratic history since independence.
He defined a political coalition as an arrangement in which different parties or political groups work together towards a common objective while retaining their individual identities.
According to him, Nigeria’s political history, from the First Republic to the present Fourth Republic, is replete with examples of such alliances.
‘What changes are the names, personalities, circumstances and objectives behind them,’ he said.
The PDP candidate recalled that the First Republic witnessed the alliance between the Northern People’s Congress and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, which produced Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as Prime Minister and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe as Governor-General and later President.
He also cited the NPN-NPP accord during the Second Republic, when the National Party of Nigeria, led by President Shehu Shagari, entered into an agreement with the Nigerian People’s Party after the NPN failed to secure a majority in the National Assembly.
Abdullahi said the arrangement resulted in the appointment of prominent NPP members, including Chief Paul Unongo, Prof Ishaya Audu, Chief Ademola Thomas, Chief (Mrs) Janet Akinrinade and Mallam Mamman Ali Makele, as ministers.
He noted, however, that disagreements over political interests eventually weakened the accord, demonstrating that the success of coalitions depends largely on how competing interests are managed.
He further referenced 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 of the ACN, CPC and ANPP, which culminated in the formation of the APC.
‘The greatest lesson from these experiences is that political coalitions are about people as much as they are about parties,’ he said.
On the current political development, Abdullahi said the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had described the Rainbow Coalition as a multi-party platform working to mobilise support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 election.
He noted Wike’s position that the coalition was not an APC structure, adding that concerns reportedly raised by some APC governors should be viewed against the background of Nigeria’s history of political alliances.
Abdullahi called on APC governors and party leaders to work with Wike, whom he described as ‘a national leader and proven grassroots strategist, a master mobilizer for the Renewed Hope Agenda.’
‘Our primary challenge today is not debating individual political relevance, but ensuring that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu secures a decisive victory come 2027,’ he said.
The governorship candidate also listed what he described as key achievements of the Tinubu administration, including Nigeria’s diplomatic response to the Niger Republic crisis, its foreign policy engagements, the Sokoto-Badagry Highway project, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Compressed Natural Gas initiative.
He said the government’s approach to the Niger crisis demonstrated the importance of dialogue and consultation with traditional rulers and Islamic scholars.
Abdullahi said the Rainbow Coalition should therefore be seen as another development in Nigeria’s evolving political landscape as the country approaches the 2027 elections.
He added that those promoting the coalition had a responsibility to explain its objectives to Nigerians, while the electorate would ultimately determine its level of acceptance through the democratic process.