Lawal to Wike: You can’t support APC candidates and other parties, clarify allegiance

n n

ABUJA — Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has asked Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to clarify his political allegiance over his involvement in the Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

n

Lawal said Wike could not simultaneously support the All Progressives Congress (APC) and candidates of other political parties, urging the minister to make his position clear.

n

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.

n

He said the position of APC governors on the matter remained unchanged, stressing that Wike should either align with the APC or remain outside the party.

n

“Our message is very, very clear: be on one side, you can’t be on two sides,” Lawal said.

n

“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.

n

“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.”

n

Lawal said he would discuss Wike’s political position with President Bola Tinubu when the President returns from his working vacation abroad.

n

He added that the APC governors were asking Wike to join the ruling party.

n

“It’s something I will discuss with the President when he comes back,” he said.

n

“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.”

n

Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been associated with the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party platform mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.

n

The FCT minister has maintained that the coalition is separate from the APC and is intended to mobilise support for Tinubu while allowing other political parties to field candidates in governorship and legislative elections.

n

The position has, however, drawn opposition from APC governors. The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, said its members would not participate in, support or endorse any political arrangement capable of weakening the APC or adversely affecting its candidates in the 2027 elections.

n

The disagreement has centred on whether support for Tinubu’s presidential bid can coexist with support for candidates from other parties in governorship and legislative contests.

n

Wike has argued that supporting Tinubu does not require abandoning candidates of other political parties, citing the experience of the G5 governors during the 2023 elections.

n n