Several state chapters of the All Progressives Congress have rejected the Rainbow Coalition being promoted by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, insisting that the former Rivers State governor should formally join the ruling party if he intends to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
The position followed comments by Zamfara State Governor and APC member, Dauda Lawal, who said the party’s governors were opposed to Wike supporting the APC at the presidential level while backing candidates from other political parties in governorship and legislative elections.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, has remained outside the APC despite serving as a minister in the APC-led Federal Government under President Tinubu. He has, however, declared support for the President’s 2027 re-election while working with politicians from different parties under the Rainbow Coalition.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Lawal said Wike needed to make his political allegiance clear.
“Our message is very, very clear: Be on one side. You can’t be on two sides. If you’re in APC, please come out and support APC. Not you’re supporting APC here, and you’re supporting other political parties somewhere else. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not done anywhere,” Lawal said.
The Zamfara governor said he would raise the matter with Tinubu, adding that the former Rivers governor could not simultaneously support the APC and opposition parties.
“He can speak, he can say whatever he wants to say, but our position has been very, very clear: APC all the way from head to toe,” Lawal stated.
Asked whether the APC governors were asking Wike to join the party, Lawal replied, “Exactly. What’s the essence?”
He added, “It’s something that I will take up with the President when he comes back. So, let there be a very, very clear line where this guy belongs to. It’s either he’s in APC or he’s out. It’s simple.”
Lawal’s position has drawn mixed but largely critical reactions from APC officials in several states, with some chapters insisting that Wike should formally identify with the ruling party.
In Imo State, the APC Publicity Secretary, Jones Onwuasoanya, accused Wike of maintaining an unclear political position and said his support for Tinubu should extend to the APC at all levels.
“If Wike is sincere about his support for President Tinubu, then he should join the APC and begin to campaign for our party across all positions rather than being selective,” Onwuasoanya told The PUNCH.
He also dismissed the Rainbow Coalition as having little political relevance in the state, saying the APC remained the dominant platform.
Similarly, the APC Publicity Secretary in Gombe State, Murtala Usman, urged Wike to complete what he described as his political transition by joining the ruling party.
“My opinion is the same as the people who are advising him to join APC because APC doesn’t need any rainbow coalition for now,” Usman said.
He warned that the coalition could create divisions within the APC, particularly in states where new entrants had already altered existing political arrangements.
“So Wike should switch to APC completely. Since he is doing the work of APC, let him be a full member, not a partial member,” he added.
The APC in Ondo State also opposed a political arrangement that would support Tinubu for President while backing candidates from other parties in other elections.
The state party secretary, Alex Kalejaiye, said the chapter was committed to delivering all APC candidates rather than concentrating solely on the presidential election.
“To us in Ondo State, support for the candidates of the ruling party must be total; our party is committed to mobilising votes for the President, three senatorial, nine representatives, and 26 House of Assembly candidates. That is not negotiable,” Kalejaiye said.
He consequently appealed to Wike to merge his coalition structures with the APC ahead of the 2027 elections.
Jigawa State APC, however, adopted a more receptive position, saying Wike’s support for Tinubu was welcome and that the party would accept him if he chose to defect.
The state Publicity Secretary, Bashir Kundu, said, “We in the Jigawa APC welcome the contribution Wike is making in promoting the President and APC candidate for the 2027 election, Bola Tinubu. We will certainly welcome Nyesom Wike if he decides to join our party, the APC.”
Kundu maintained that the APC had sufficient structures to pursue its electoral objectives, arguing that Wike’s activities would not undermine the party.
Reactions in Benue State reflected divisions within the APC, with officials of different factions taking opposing positions on whether Wike should join the ruling party.
James Orgunga, the organising secretary of one of the APC factions, commended Wike’s support for Tinubu but said he would prefer the minister to formally join the party.
“Wike has joined APC already, because he is working for the president; we appreciate that, but as a core party man, anyone working for the success of a candidate in my party should be praised,” Orgunga said.
He added, “But I do not subscribe to a rainbow coalition and am of the opinion that Wike join our party.”
However, Daniel Ihomun, the publicity secretary of another APC faction loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, took a different position, saying Wike should remain in the PDP.
“He should not join APC; he should remain where he is because he has helped to destroy PDP for us,” Ihomun said.
He also claimed that a Rainbow Coalition structure was already operating in Benue under what he called the Benue Strategic Alliance for Tinubu, involving members of the APC, PDP and Labour Party.
The differing positions across the states highlight the disagreement within the APC over Wike’s political arrangement ahead of the 2027 general elections, particularly over whether support for Tinubu should be tied to support for APC candidates at other levels.
