Rainbow Coalition Part of Nigeria’s Political History, Says Sokoto PDP Governorship Candidate

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Abubakar Sokoto, has described the emerging Rainbow Coalition as another phase in Nigeria’s long history of political alliances and realignments.

Sokoto made the remark in a statement issued in Sokoto on Tuesday, saying political coalitions had featured prominently in different electoral cycles as parties and political groups came together to pursue shared objectives.

He said the names, personalities and circumstances surrounding such alliances might change from one election cycle to another, but political realignment remained a recurring feature of Nigeria’s electoral politics.

The PDP candidate cited the AD-APP joint presidential ticket of Olu Falae and Umaru Shinkafi in 1999 as one example of an alliance between political forces. He also referenced the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties ahead of the 2015 elections and the merger involving the ACN, CPC and ANPP that led to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“The greatest lesson from these experiences is that political coalitions are about people as much as they are about parties,” Sokoto said.

On the current Rainbow Coalition, Sokoto noted that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has described the platform as a multi-party movement mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election. Wike has also said the coalition is separate from the APC and is intended to bring together political actors from different parties who support Tinubu.

The coalition has, however, generated disagreement within the ruling party. The APC Governors Forum recently said its members would not support any alliance or political arrangement capable of weakening the APC, undermining Tinubu’s re-election or adversely affecting APC candidates at any level.

Sokoto said concerns reportedly expressed by some APC governors should be viewed against the broader history of political coalitions in Nigeria. He urged APC governors and party leaders to adopt what he described as a pragmatic approach to the emerging political realignment.

He also called on Nigerians and political stakeholders to support efforts aimed at ensuring that the 2027 general election is free, fair and credible, stressing the importance of allowing voters to make their choices through the electoral process.