Some aggrieved governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) are quietly exploring contacts with Atiku Abubakar, former vice president and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate.

Top sources confided in our correspondent on Tuesday that the major source of concern among some APC governors is the fear that Wike’s Rainbow Coalition could challenge their political influence at the governorship and legislative elections in 2027.

One of the promoters of the Tinubu Continuity Project in Northern Nigeria told our correspondent on Tuesday that some aggrieved APC governors were already in talks with the opposition candidate.

“We have witnessed several defections by opposition governors to the APC in recent times. The threats are therefore real. I’m aware some of our aggrieved governors are seeking other alternatives including a possible alliance with Atiku” he said.

“The governors are not afraid of Tinubu losing his re-election. Their concern is Wike’s claim that the President has already ceded nine states to the coalition in the governorship election. Tinubu will not be seeking another election after 2027, and it would cost him practically nothing to cede some states, as Wike claimed,” he added.

A key member of the Arewa Mandate Alliance in the North also confirmed the development, saying some aggrieved APC governors were quietly exploring alternative political channels outside the APC to protect their interests ahead of 2027.

“The question is why should Wike be allowed to build alternative structures against them while still claiming to support the President?,” he asked.

The emerging contacts underscore growing unease among some APC governors over Wike’s strategy of backing President Tinubu for the presidency while mobilising opposition support against APC candidates in governorship and legislative contests

Multiple sources told our Correspondent that the concern was particularly acute in states where politicians who lost APC primaries or became alienated from the ruling party were reportedly gravitating towards Wike’s coalition.

“Atiku and the ADC are consequently being examined as an alternative political network through which the aggrieved governors could protect their structures and counter the coalition’s influence,” another source told our Correspondent.

“The electoral timetable has added weight to the calculations. The presidential and National Assembly elections will hold on January 16, 2027, while governorship and State Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6.

“Whatever happens at the presidential election, the governorship election comes three weeks later. That creates a completely different political calculation for the governors,” the source added.

Reacting, Alhaji Bala Ibrahim, APC National Director of Publicity, warned against any alliance with opposition parties ahead of the 2027 elections, saying such arrangements could undermine party loyalty.

Ibrahim told BusinessDay in a telephone interview that loyalty to the APC must be “total and unconditional,” stressing that members could not selectively support the party.

“If you are loyal to someone or something, you have to be total. You cannot be loyal to a certain degree and be disloyal to another degree. That is in conflict with the meaning of support,” he said.

He added that any APC governor seeking an alliance with another party or candidate to secure political interests at different levels would raise questions about his loyalty.

“We want our party to win in a free and fair election, not win in connivance with some people who are not members of our party,” Ibrahim said.

Phrank Shaibu, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, was yet to respond as of the time of filing this report, after reading a WhatsApp message from our Correspondent.