JUST IN: 2027: Pressure Mounts for ‘Rainbow Coalition’ to End 16-Year Power Imbalance in Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency
By OGB Joseph, Abuja
As political activities ahead of the 2027 general elections begin to gather momentum, fresh calls have emerged for the formation of a broad-based “Political Rainbow Coalition” to address what has been described as a 16-year imbalance in the representation of the Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
The call, contained in a political intervention by Wesley Awouke Olowojaiye, urges political parties, community leaders, traditional stakeholders and interest groups across Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State to embrace an inclusive power-sharing arrangement that would produce the next federal lawmaker from the Akoko-Edo North/Okpameri axis.
According to the proposal, democracy can only flourish when governance is founded on fairness, equity and mutual respect, stressing that every segment of the constituency must have a genuine sense of belonging for sustainable peace and development to thrive.
The intervention argues that the federal legislative seat has remained in the Akoko-Edo South axis for about 16 years, a development the author says has created growing feelings of political exclusion among communities in Akoko-Edo North and the Okpameri bloc.
The document maintains that no section of the constituency possesses an exclusive right to political leadership and warns that continued concentration of political power in one axis could deepen divisions and weaken public confidence in the existing political arrangement.
Describing 2027 as a defining opportunity to reset the constituency’s political trajectory, Olowojaiye proposed the establishment of what he termed a “Political Rainbow Coalition”—an alliance that would transcend party affiliations, ethnic considerations and sectional interests in pursuit of equitable representation.
Central to the proposal is an appeal to political leaders and aspirants from Akoko-Edo South to make what he described as a historic sacrifice by shelving immediate political ambitions and supporting a consensus candidate from Akoko-Edo North/Okpameri.
According to him, such a decision should not be interpreted as a political defeat for any group but as a demonstration of statesmanship capable of strengthening trust and reinforcing the spirit of unity across the constituency.
He further argued that allowing power to rotate fairly among the different blocs would establish a lasting political culture where every community believes it has an equal stake in governance.
The proposal also links equitable representation with accelerated development, insisting that balanced leadership would encourage greater collaboration on critical issues such as infrastructure development, youth empowerment, security, education and economic growth.
The intervention concludes that the search for political stability in Akoko-Edo cannot be separated from the pursuit of justice, maintaining that “true unity is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.”
It calls on political parties, opinion leaders and citizens to seize the opportunity presented by the 2027 elections to build a united constituency where leadership reflects the diversity of its people rather than the dominance of a particular axis.
If embraced, proponents believe the proposed Rainbow Coalition would produce a federal representative with a constituency-wide mandate, marking what they describe as the beginning of a new chapter of fairness, inclusion and shared progress for Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency.
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