By Aliyu Oyewole
Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed claims of a “rainbow coalition” in Ebonyi State, insisting that the state remains firmly aligned with the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 elections.
Umahi spoke on Friday while inspecting Section Two of the Calabar-Abuja Superhighway project in Ado, Benue State, according to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Francis Nwaze.
The former Ebonyi State governor was responding to questions surrounding the political coalition associated with Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, which has been mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Umahi said there was no such coalition operating in Ebonyi and maintained that the state’s political structure remained with the APC and its candidates.
“If Wike has candidates here, he has not told me,” Umahi said.
He added that even if Wike had political candidates in the state, such candidates would not alter the relationship between the state and the APC.
“There is no rainbow coalition in Ebonyi state,” the minister stated.
Umahi warns politicians against hate speech
Umahi said politicians were free to campaign in Ebonyi ahead of the 2027 elections but warned against inflammatory statements and actions capable of causing tension.
He said politicians seeking support in the state should not expect a favourable reception if their campaigns were built around hate speech.
“Anybody that wants to campaign, come and campaign. But don’t dish out hate speeches,” he said.
The minister also warned that nobody would be allowed to foment crisis in the state.
“Nobody can foment crisis in Ebonyi state,” Umahi added.
‘PDP mistreated South-East’
Umahi also criticised the Peoples Democratic Party over what he described as its treatment of the South-East despite the region’s support for the party’s presidential candidates in previous elections.
He said the South-East had supported the PDP at different times but was disappointed when the party, according to him, failed to reciprocate that support.
“We supported the PDP. We voted for presidents in the PDP. And when it was our time for them to honour us, they did not honour us. They mistreated us,” he said.
Umahi’s comments come as political alignments and coalition-building intensify ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, with parties and political groups seeking to consolidate support across the states.
