Minister of Works and former Ebonyi State governor, David Umahi, has said there is no “rainbow coalition” in Ebonyi, insisting that the state remains aligned with All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
Gatekeepers News reports that Umahi made the statement on Friday, September 25, while inspecting Section Two of the Calabar-Abuja Superhighway project in Ado, Benue State. His comments came amid political discussions surrounding the “Rainbow Coalition”, a platform associated with Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which is mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Addressing reports that Wike could have candidates or a political structure in Ebonyi, Umahi said he had not been informed of such an arrangement.
“If Wike has candidates here, he has not told me. And his candidate cannot break our relationship, but his candidate is not part of our relationship. There is no rainbow coalition in Ebonyi state.”
The former governor said politicians were free to campaign in Ebonyi but warned them against inflammatory statements capable of causing unrest.
“Anybody that wants to campaign, come and campaign. But don’t dish out hate speeches and you want to take those speeches, and you want that we should lay a red carpet for you. We will not do that,” Umahi said.
He also cautioned political actors against actions that could threaten peace in the state, declaring:
“Nobody can foment crisis in Ebonyi state.”
Umahi further criticised his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), revisiting his claim that the party failed to adequately recognise the interests of the South-East despite the region’s support for its presidential candidates.
“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.
The comments come as political alignments and alliances continue to develop ahead of the 2027 general elections.
