Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has issued a blunt challenge to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, over his involvement with the Rainbow Coalition, insisting that the former Rivers governor must make his political allegiance clear ahead of the 2027 elections.
Lawal said Wike cannot simultaneously support the All Progressives Congress (APC) and political candidates from other parties while remaining outside the ruling party.
The Zamfara governor spoke in an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been associated with the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party platform through which he has backed President Bola Tinubu’s bid for a second term in 2027.
However, the arrangement has triggered disagreements with APC governors, who have questioned a political structure that supports Tinubu for president while allowing politicians to back candidates from other parties in governorship and legislative contests.
Lawal said the position of the APC governors was unequivocal.
“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.
Asked directly whether the governors were demanding that Wike join the APC, Lawal replied: “Exactly.”
He further disclosed that he intends to raise Wike’s political position with President Tinubu, saying there should be clarity over where the FCT minister stands politically.
“It’s something I will discuss with the President when he comes back. 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,” Lawal said.
The latest confrontation adds to the growing disagreement between Wike and APC governors over the Rainbow Coalition.
Wike has maintained his support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election while arguing that such support does not require him to abandon the PDP or prevent other parties from fielding candidates in governorship and legislative elections. He has also rejected suggestions that the coalition was established to destabilise existing political parties.
The dispute now places renewed focus on the political identity and future direction of the Rainbow Coalition as the 2027 election cycle approaches.
