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The political disagreement between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has taken another turn, with Wike declaring that he would not support Uzodimma for the position of Senate President after the 2027 general elections.
Wike made the statement on Monday, September 21, 2026, during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, where he spoke extensively about the growing political differences between himself and some All Progressives Congress governors. At the centre of his latest comments was Uzodimma, who is also the Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum.
Wike questioned Uzodimma’s reported plan to leave the governorship of Imo State and contest for a Senate seat in 2027, alleging that the governor’s ultimate objective is to become President of the Nigerian Senate.
“Hope Uzodinma became a governor by taking fourth position,” Wike said, referring to Uzodimma’s emergence as governor. He then pointed to the approaching end of Uzodimma’s second term, arguing that the governor would leave office around January 2028 and was already looking towards his next political destination.
“Now, he wants to leave his office to run for Senate. He wants to run for Senate President,” Wike said.
The FCT Minister went further, alleging that Uzodimma was encouraging governors to influence the emergence of senators and members of the House of Representatives who could eventually support his reported ambition to preside over the Senate.
According to Wike, some governors may be supporting the arrangement because they believe it would strengthen their influence within the National Assembly. He, however, argued that they might not necessarily be aware of what he described as Uzodimma’s personal political calculations.
“What he does is to say to his colleagues, let us be the ones, the governors, who will produce the senators and members of the House of Reps,” Wike said, adding that some governors may be embracing the idea because they believe it would give them greater political influence.
Wike also linked the disagreement to politicians who lost out in the All Progressives Congress nomination process and subsequently sought alternative platforms ahead of the 2027 elections. He alleged that some of these politicians could contest under other political platforms, including the Peoples Democratic Party, and that their emergence could affect calculations surrounding the next leadership of the National Assembly.
The FCT Minister claimed that this was part of the reason, in his view, some politicians were attempting to influence who emerges as candidates for legislative positions.
He argued that lawmakers elected through alternative political platforms would not necessarily be inclined to support Uzodimma’s reported Senate presidency ambition.
Wike then delivered his strongest statement on the matter, saying his position was not open to negotiation.
“Life or death, I will never support a character like Hope Uzodinma to be the Senate President of Nigeria,” he said, stressing that, in his words, “everybody knows” his position.
The statement has further exposed the depth of the political disagreement between the two men. Their differences have become increasingly visible amid debates over the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political arrangement associated with Wike and his political allies ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike has maintained that the coalition is primarily aimed at supporting President Bola Tinubu’s re-election while allowing politicians involved in the arrangement to support candidates of their choice in other elections. His position has, however, put him at odds with some APC governors who have expressed concerns about political arrangements they believe could affect the party and its candidates.
Uzodimma, who chairs the Progressive Governors Forum, has emerged as one of the prominent APC figures on the other side of that disagreement. The PGF has said it would not support political arrangements capable of undermining the APC or its candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike’s latest comments therefore go beyond a personal disagreement over the future of one politician. They touch on the broader struggle over the composition and leadership of Nigeria’s next National Assembly.
The Senate Presidency is decided by senators after the inauguration of a new National Assembly. As such, any individual seeking the position would ultimately require sufficient support among senators elected in the 2027 elections. Wike’s argument is that the political process leading to the emergence of those senators is already becoming an important part of the wider political contest.
Uzodimma’s reported interest in returning to the Senate has also become a subject of political discussion as his second term as Imo State governor approaches its conclusion. Recent reports have linked him with a possible Senate bid, although the question of who will eventually emerge as Senate President after the 2027 elections remains dependent on the outcome of the elections and subsequent decisions within the National Assembly.
Another important aspect of the dispute is the difference between what has been publicly established and what remains an allegation. Wike has alleged that Uzodimma is actively working towards becoming Senate President and is seeking to influence the emergence of lawmakers who would support him. Those claims have been made by Wike in the context of their political disagreement and should therefore be distinguished from independently established facts.
What is clear, however, is that Wike has publicly rejected any prospect of supporting Uzodimma for the Senate presidency. His language leaves little ambiguity about his personal position, even as the wider political calculations surrounding the 2027 elections continue to unfold.
With the next general elections still ahead, the contest for legislative seats and the eventual leadership of the National Assembly is already becoming part of Nigeria’s wider political conversation. The coming months are likely to reveal more about the alliances, candidates and political arrangements that will shape the composition of the next Senate.
For now, Wike has made his position unmistakable: regardless of how the political calculations develop, he says he will not support Hope Uzodimma for the position of Senate President.
