Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara state has challenged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to clearly define his political allegiance ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Lawal said Wike could not simultaneously support the All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside other political parties through the Rainbow Coalition.
The governor spoke in an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
His comments came amid growing disagreements between Wike and APC governors over the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party platform associated with efforts to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), the umbrella body of APC governors, has opposed the idea of such a cross-party arrangement, arguing that it could undermine the party’s political structure and Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
Addressing Wike’s involvement with the coalition, Lawal said the position of APC governors was straightforward.
“Our message is very, very clear, be on one side, you can’t be on two sides. If you are in APC, please come out and support the APC, not you are supporting APC here and you are supporting some other political parties somewhere else,” he said.
The Zamfara governor maintained that the APC governors would not change their position regardless of Wike’s response.
According to him, the governors remained committed to the APC and would continue to work toward the party’s political objectives ahead of 2027.
“We maintain our stand and the message is very clear. He can speak, he can say whatever he wants to say, but our position has been very clear, APC all the way from head to toe,” Lawal said.
Asked whether the governors were effectively asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal responded: “Exactly.”
He further disclosed that he intended to discuss Wike’s political position with President Tinubu when the President returns from his working vacation in France.
“Let there be a clear line where this guy belongs to. It’s either he is in APC or he is out, simple. So I go with my brothers, the governors,” he said.
Wike, however, has maintained that his support for Tinubu’s 2027 presidential bid is not in doubt.
The FCT minister recently said securing victory for Tinubu remains his major political priority, while also rejecting claims that the Rainbow Coalition was created to destabilise established political parties.
Wike said the coalition was not an APC initiative but a platform involving members of other political parties who support what he described as Tinubu’s “good works” and his bid for re-election.
The dispute has also generated criticism from APC leaders in the South-East.
Last week, the party’s South-East leadership backed the PGF and criticised Wike over his comments concerning APC governors.
In a joint statement signed by the APC National Vice Chairman, South-East, Ijeomah Arodiogbu, and the party chairmen in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo states, the leaders described Wike’s remarks against the governors as “most unfortunate, reprehensible and completely unacceptable.”
The South-East APC leaders accused Wike of attempting to interfere in the political fortunes of serving APC governors ahead of the 2027 elections.
They also rejected what they called the “rainbow (chameleon) coalition” in the region and pledged their support for APC candidates at all levels in the 2027 elections.
