Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised politicians opposing the Rainbow Coalition, saying those questioning the alliance lack the capacity to unite even their families and immediate communities.

He said the political initiative, which brings together stakeholders from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was driven by the need to promote unity, cooperation and development in the FCT, rather than narrow partisan interests.

This comes as controversy has erupted within the Nasarawa State chapter of the APC over the inclusion of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) candidate for the Lafia/Obi Federal Constituency, Kabiru Dallah, in the council.

It was alleged that Dallah’s inclusion followed a secret political arrangement between the Nasarawa APC leadership and Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, with some party members questioning his inclusion as a member of the campaign council’s Youth Mobilisation Committee.

Though the APC State Secretary, Yarus Daguza, who signed the list, has denied any alliance with the Rainbow Coalition, saying that Dallah’s name has since been removed, some aggrieved members have called on Governor Abdullahi Sule to constitute a fresh council that reflects the interests of all stakeholders.

In Plateau State, Governor Caleb Mutfwang and the APC State Chairman, Rufus Bature, have charged party leaders, stakeholders and members of the newly inaugurated Tinubu/Shettima and Mutfwang/Piyo 2027 Campaign Council to close ranks, intensify grassroots mobilisation and work towards securing victory for the party in the forthcoming general elections.

The two leaders spoke yesterday in Jos during the inauguration of the campaign council, which Mutfwang chairs, with the governor insisting that the state would sustain the political journey under the APC.

SPEAKING yesterday during the commissioning of the Gwagwalada Civic Centre and an interactive session with APC and PDP stakeholders in the Gwagwalada Area Council of Abuja, Wike commended political leaders in the area for putting aside their differences to work together.

He described their decision as evidence that the collective interest of the people should take precedence over individual political ambitions. He further challenged critics of the alliance to explain why politicians who previously belonged to opposing camps could not put aside their differences to pursue common political and developmental objectives.

The minister urged FCT residents to avoid repeating what he described as the mistake of the 2023 general elections, insisting that the territory needed credible and accessible representatives who understood the challenges confronting its six area councils.

Earlier, the FCT APC Chairman, Ishaku Yamawo, described the gathering as historic, saying that Wike’s political intervention had brought together leaders who previously operated on opposing sides of the political divide.

Similarly, the FCT PDP Chairman, Ismaila Dogara, commended Wike’s developmental interventions, particularly the revival of a project that had remained abandoned for 16 years in Gwagwalada.

MEANWHILE, Mutfwang urged Nigerians to exercise patience with the federal government’s economic reforms, arguing that the country inherited serious economic challenges that required difficult but necessary decisions, including foreign exchange difficulties, mounting debts and a petrol subsidy regime, which he described as unsustainable.

However, he said the Tinubu government has made progress in addressing some of these challenges, though he acknowledged that the economic adjustment process has continued to impose hardship on Nigerians.

Also, the Director-General of the campaign council, Joseph Ari, assured that the campaign would be issue-based, factual and inclusive, avoiding bitterness. (Guardian)