The Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal has told the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike to clarify his position on his engagement with the Rainbow Coalition, noting that he cannot belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been linked with the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political organization that is working to rally support for the re-election of President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
But APC governors have kept their distance from the coalition, with the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), the umbrella body of APC governors, claiming such an alliance might sabotage the President’s re-election bid.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sideline of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Lawal said Wike must pick where his political loyalty rests.
Our message is very very clear, you can’t be on two sides, be on one side. “Come out and support the APC, not you are supporting APC here and you are supporting some other political parties somewhere else,” he remarked.
Lawal said that no matter what Wike said on the matter, the APC governors would not shift ground.
We stand by our stand and the message is pretty clear. He can talk, he can say whatever he wants to say, but our position has been very clear, APC all the way from head to toe,” he said.
When asked if the governors were really inviting Wike to the APC, Lawal said, “Exactly!
The Zamfara governor also said he will meet with President Tinubu to discuss Wike’s political position when the president returns from his working holiday in France.
“It’s something I’ll discuss with the president when he gets back. Let there be a clear line where this individual belongs. “Either he is in APC or he is out, it is as simple as that. So I go with my brothers, the governors.
The statements followed the PGF’s dismissal of the concept of a political arrangement across the major parties that would include members of the APC, with the governors insisting that such an alliance may jeopardise Tinubu’s 2027 re-election campaign.
Wike, however, has insisted that he will back the re-election of Tinubu, stating that ensuring the president’s success in the 2027 presidential election is his top political objective.
The FCT minister made the announcement Monday in Abuja while speaking to press after viewing some ongoing road developments within the Federal Capital Territory.
He also dismissed claims that the Rainbow Coalition, which he is a member of, was created to disrupt established political parties.
Wike has been linked to PDP candidates in certain states for the 2027 elections including Imo and Kwara.
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