The African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has criticised FCT Minister Nyesom wise over his recent comments on the Osun governorship election and his absence from the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council.
Eze said on Thursday that he was pleased that wise was not included in the campaign council, describing the development as evidence that the APC leadership was becoming less receptive to what he called the minister’s political style.
The council announced by the party on 22 August named former Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari as Director-General and Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma as Secretary.
President Bola Tinubu is chairman, while Vice-President Kashim Shettima and APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda are vice-chairmen.
More importantly, wise has publicly said he would not have accepted the Director-General position if Tinubu had offered it to him.
Speaking on 22 August, wise said previous campaign directors-general had sometimes struggled to deliver their home states while managing national campaigns.
He said his priority was to deliver Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory for Tinubu.
The Presidency also said on 26 August that the campaign structure remained valid but could still undergo adjustments because some subcommittees had yet to be constituted.
Eze: wise's influence is being reduced
Reacting to the composition of the campaign council, Eze said wise had previously lobbied for the Director-General position but was not selected.
“I am a very happy man. Happy not because APC is involved, but because of the way the party shunned wise from being a member of its Presidential Campaign Council,” he said.
“Nigerians are aware of how wise had through his stooges lobbied to be appointed the Director General of the APC Campaign Council, but unfortunately for him, it seems the APC leadership are gradually coming to terms that wise is a man that likes eye-service and takes glory of other people's achievements.”
wise himself denied earlier reports that he was seeking a role in the campaign council.“I do not need to be the do or even a member of the Presidential Campaign Council of Mr President’s political party to contribute my quota by ensuring that he wins handsomely in Rivers State and the FCT,” he said in an earlier statement.
The dispute over the Osun election
The latest confrontation follows wise's remarks about the 15 August Osun governorship election, which saw incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke defeat APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji.
The Independent National Electoral Commission declared Adeleke the winner after he secured 511,067 votes against Oyebamiji's 444,815.
Adeleke won 19 of the state's 30 local government areas, while the APC candidate won 11.
Days after the election, wise said APC could have won if Tinubu had chosen to deploy federal influence to secure victory.
“If the President had wanted to win the Osun state election at all costs, I would have been there and we would have won it, and there is nothing the governor can do,” wise said.
The statement triggered criticism because it appeared to suggest that political influence, rather than voters' choices, could determine an election outcome.
Eze described the remark as “callous, unpatriotic, irresponsible and an affront on the APC hierarchy, the party's 22 Governors, the Senate President gods will Akpabio and other officials of the party.”
“I wept when I read the said report credited to wise, concerning the victory of Governor Adeleke in the recently conducted Osun State Governorship election,” Eze said.
He added: “wise in his loquacious nature, only but deliberately and arrogantly told the world that he is bigger, richer, influential, strategic and a better election rigger than the APC top echelon.”
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What the Osun result actually shows
The official result provides a more concrete measure of the election.
Adeleke defeated Oyebamiji by 66,252 votes after securing more than half a million votes.
The ADC candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished third with 17,180 votes.
The result therefore demonstrates that the APC was defeated in Osun despite controlling the federal government.
It does not, by itself, establish why the party lost or whether federal intervention would have changed the outcome.
That distinction matters as political parties prepare for the 2027 general election.
Eze argued that wise's comments amounted to an indictment of the electoral system.
“If the Senate President, gods will Akpabio and the 22 APC Governors were disgraced by Osun voters, who is wise?” he asked.
“wise is apparently saying that the votes of the people of Osun state would not have countered if he were to be sent by Tinubu.”
He described this as “an indictment against INEC, President Tinubu, security agencies and the Nigeria's democratic system”.
wise has not said that he personally rigged the Osun election. His argument was that the Federal Government deliberately did not use its influence to secure an APC victory.
wise's emerging role in the 2027 contest
The dispute comes as wise continues to position himself as an influential figure in the political realignment ahead of 2027.
Although wise remains a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he serves in the APC-led federal government and has openly backed Tinubu's re-election bid.
On 21 August, he described a developing cross-party alliance as a “larger rainbow coalition” supporting the President.
“What happened last night is a meeting to rebuild a larger Rainbow Coalition. And he (Adeleke) is supporting Mr President.
He’s in a different party; I’m supporting Mr President, and I’m in a different party. So, it’s a larger Rainbow Coalition,” wise said.
wise was referring to political contacts involving Adeleke after the Osun election.
That development has added another layer to the 2027 contest, with politicians from different parties exploring alliances before the presidential election.
But political meetings and endorsements do not automatically translate into votes.
The electoral strength of any proposed coalition will ultimately depend on whether its supporters can mobilise voters across different states and political constituencies.
Eze accuses wise of political grandstanding
Eze also attacked wise's warning that he would “send fire” after former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State governor Peter Obi.
The ADC chieftain described the threat as the “ranting of a drowning man looking for attention”.
“The daily steps towards the ouster of Tinubu from office will be the fire that will live and consume him before and after the 2027 general elections,” Eze said.
He also claimed that wise had lost political influence in Rivers State and accused him of contributing to what he described as the state's political and financial problems.
Those allegations remain disputed and were not supported by independent evidence in Eze's statement.
Eze further criticised what he described as Tinubu's silence over wise's comments.
He said the President's failure to publicly rebuke the minister was “unfortunate, sad, and demeaning” and alleged that wise's statements were capable of damaging Nigeria's democracy.
Eze went further by making a serious allegation about the 2023 presidential election.
“By this unwarranted outbursts of this felony, it is very clear that Tinubu didn't win the 2023 presidential election, but was rigged by wise and his cohorts. Maybe, that is why Tinubu is unable to call him to order.”
Tinubu was declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election by INEC, while the election result was challenged in court.
Why the dispute matters
The argument between Eze and wise is more than a personality clash.
It highlights a wider question about the role of political influence in Nigeria's elections and whether politicians should be able to claim that they can determine electoral outcomes through government or party machinery.
wise's comments have also drawn attention because he remains a PDP member while serving as a minister in an APC-led administration and supporting Tinubu's re-election.
His decision not to join the APC campaign council does not mean he has withdrawn his support for Tinubu.
On the contrary, he has repeatedly said he intends to help the President win Rivers and the FCT.
At the same time, the APC's decision to place Yari and Uzodimma at the centre of its formal campaign structure suggests that the party has chosen a conventional party-led campaign architecture.
The Presidency's statement that adjustments may still be made means the structure is not necessarily final.
What happens next?
The immediate question is whether wise will remain an influential informal campaign operator despite his absence from the formal APC council.
Another question is whether his proposed “Rainbow Coalition” will develop into a clearly defined political alliance or remain a loose network of politicians supporting Tinubu.
For the opposition, the bigger challenge is whether figures such as Atiku and Obi can build a competitive coalition capable of converting public dissatisfaction into votes.
For voters, however, the significance of the political manoeuvring will ultimately be measured by what competing parties offer on the economy, security, jobs, public services and the credibility of the electoral process.
Eze has called on Nigerians to “sit up” and oppose what he described as political practices that threaten democracy.
He also commended a reported plan by more than 10 million youths to occupy Abuja and demand wise's resignation as FCT minister.
The press release provides no independent evidence confirming the size, organisation or timing of such a mobilisation.
The next stage will therefore be to watch whether the political rhetoric produces concrete changes in party alliances, campaign structures and electoral strategy ahead of the 2027 elections.
