Several state chapters of the All Progressives Congress have rejected the political coalition being promoted by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, with party leaders asking him to either join the ruling party or abandon the coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The reactions followed renewed disagreements between Wike and APC governors over his political activities and the structure he is building around his support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election.
Wike remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party while serving as a minister in the APC-led Federal Government. Tinubu appointed him FCT minister after the 2023 presidential election, despite Wike’s continued membership of the PDP.
The dispute has centred on Wike’s decision to support Tinubu for president while maintaining a separate political platform that could support candidates from different parties in governorship and legislative elections.
The position of APC governors was recently restated by Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, who asked Wike to choose between joining the APC and continuing with 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 could not maintain political allegiance to different platforms.
“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.
He added that the APC governors expected Wike to make his political position clear.
Asked whether the governors were asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal replied, “Exactly. What’s the essence?”
The Zamfara governor also said he intended to discuss Wike’s political position with Tinubu.
“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. And I go with my brothers, the governors,” Lawal said.
The position has received support from several APC chapters across the country, although some have adopted a more cautious approach.
In Imo State, APC Publicity Secretary Jones Onwuasoanya said Wike should formally join the ruling party if he was genuinely committed to supporting Tinubu.
“Decency demands that an individual who claims so much allegiance to the philosophies and programmes of a political party should fully align with that political party, rather than playing hide and seek with his loyalty to the party,” Onwuasoanya said.
He added, “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.”
The Imo APC spokesman also said the state chapter did not recognise the Rainbow Coalition as a political structure.
“As long as the All Progressives Congress in Imo State is concerned, there is nothing like a Rainbow Coalition or whatever it might be called. The APC is the only viable political platform in Imo State,” he said.
In Gombe State, APC Publicity Secretary Murtala Usman similarly urged Wike to complete 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 expressed concern that a separate coalition could create difficulties among APC stakeholders, particularly in states where politicians from opposition parties had recently joined the ruling party.
“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 said.
The APC in Ondo State also opposed the proposed coalition, particularly the idea of supporting Tinubu for president while backing candidates from other parties in other elections.
The state party secretary, Alex Kalejaiye, said the APC intended to mobilise support for all its candidates.
“We are disturbed that the coalition would only support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the general elections, but field candidates for other positions,” he said.
Kalejaiye said the party would campaign for Tinubu as well as its candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and state House of Assembly.
“To us in Ondo State, support for the candidates of the ruling party must be total,” he said.
He urged Wike to bring his political structure into the APC so that both sides could work together during the elections.
In Jigawa State, however, the APC adopted a more welcoming position towards Wike.
The state party Publicity Secretary, Bashir Kundu, said the chapter appreciated Wike’s support for Tinubu and would welcome him if he decided to join the APC.
“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 said.
He argued that the APC itself was formed through a coalition of political parties and could accommodate politicians from different political backgrounds.
In Benue State, APC members expressed different views on the issue.
James Orgunga, organising secretary of one of the APC factions, praised Wike for supporting 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, publicity secretary of another APC faction loyal to Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, took a different position.
“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 political arrangement known as the “Benue Strategic Alliance for Tinubu” involving members of the APC, PDP and Labour Party existed in the state.
In Rivers State, where Wike served as governor, a faction of the APC led by Emeka Beke backed the position of the Progressive Governors Forum against the coalition.
The faction’s publicity secretary, Darlington Nwauju, said Wike could not remain a PDP member while attempting to influence the political structure of the APC.
He argued that asking voters to support candidates from different political parties in simultaneous elections could create confusion.
Nwauju said the APC governors were therefore justified in asking Wike to either join the party or stay away from its internal affairs.
In Anambra State, APC chairman Senator Emmanuel Anosike described Wike’s coalition as an inappropriate intervention in the affairs of the ruling party.
“It amounts to an insult to the integrity and sensibility of the APC and its governors for Wike to make such comments,” Anosike said.
He argued that Wike, as a PDP member, had no basis for interfering in APC affairs.
“The minister is not a member of the party, hence should stop meddling in the internal affairs of the party,” he said.
In Kwara State, APC chairman Sunday Fagbemi questioned how Wike’s proposed electoral arrangement would work when presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives elections are conducted on the same day.
“What is the level of enlightenment of Nigerian voters? How do you explain to someone that, out of the five elections, at least three—the presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives elections—will be conducted on the same day?” Fagbemi asked.
He said APC members were expected to support the party’s candidates across the ballot.
Plateau State APC chairman Rufus Bature also said his chapter had no knowledge of a Rainbow Coalition structure in the state.
“We don’t know anything about Rainbow Coalition in Plateau State,” Bature said.
He nevertheless said Wike remained free to join the APC.
“If he wants to join the APC, he is free to do that because we don’t stop people from joining our party. But he cannot be APC in the morning and PDP in the night. We won’t allow that,” he said.
Bature also suggested that Wike could be building a political structure for future elections, although he said the party would not ignore the coalition.
In Nasarawa State, APC Publicity Secretary Augustine Ogaba said the chapter appreciated Wike’s support for Tinubu but would prefer him to become a recognised member of the ruling party.
“As APC members, we do not approve of any coalition that is not recognised or supported by our party’s leadership,” Ogaba said.
He added that the party would be more comfortable with Wike joining its ranks rather than operating an independent coalition.
Not every APC chapter has taken a position on the matter.
In Osun State, APC spokesman Kola Olabisi said the question of whether Wike should join the party was a matter for the national leadership.
“The decision on whether Wike should join APC or not is beyond the state level. It will be decided at the highest level of the party,” he said.
Delta State APC chairman Solomon Arenyeka also said the state chapter was waiting for a formal position from the national leadership.
In Bayelsa State, APC chieftain Doubara Joseph urged Wike to join the party if he was committed to Tinubu.
“If Wike is actually working for President Tinubu and believes in the President’s leadership, then the straightforward thing for him to do is to join the APC,” Joseph said.
However, Bayelsa APC chairman Warman Ogoriba declined to comment.
Sokoto APC chairman Haruna Adiya also said the state chapter had no member in the Rainbow Coalition and declined to take a broader position on the disagreement.
In Niger State, APC spokesman Musa Sarkin-Kaji said the party had no formal relationship with Wike, although he acknowledged the minister’s association with the ruling party.
“The APC in Niger State has no business with Wike, although we appreciate his relationship with our party. And you know we are in a democracy, and everyone has the freedom of association,” he said.
Bauchi APC spokesman Shehu Dauda said the party did not support divided loyalty.
“We don’t believe in someone in another party claiming to be with us, or our party members claiming not to support any of our candidates. Whoever is with the APC should be with it and not divide their loyalty,” he said.
Wike, however, has rejected the argument that his Rainbow Coalition is an APC structure or that it is intended to weaken the ruling party.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike said the coalition was specifically focused on supporting Tinubu’s presidential re-election bid.
The minister maintained that the coalition could support Tinubu for president without preventing other political parties from fielding candidates in governorship and legislative elections.
Wike has also argued that his position is consistent with the political arrangement before the 2023 presidential election, when he and other members of the G5 supported Tinubu without formally leaving the PDP.
He has repeatedly maintained that “politics is local” and that politicians should be allowed to determine their alliances at the state level.
Minister of Works David Umahi, a former Ebonyi State governor who moved from the PDP to the APC, said there was no Rainbow Coalition in Ebonyi State.
“If Wike has candidates here, he has not told me. And his candidate cannot break our relationship, but his candidate is not part of our relationship. There is no rainbow coalition in Ebonyi State,” Umahi said.
Umahi also warned politicians against hate speech and actions capable of causing disorder during campaigns.
While APC figures in several states are asking Wike to join the ruling party, some PDP members continue to insist that he remains a member and leader of the opposition party.
In Abia State, PDP deputy governorship candidate Abraham Amah described the APC’s invitation to Wike as part of political competition.
“But one thing is certain: that he remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, and he is the national leader of the party,” Amah said.
The disagreement has therefore left Wike’s political position at the centre of a wider debate within the President’s political camp ahead of the 2027 elections.
While Wike says his coalition is focused on supporting Tinubu’s presidential bid, several APC state chapters argue that such support should be accompanied by formal membership of the ruling party and support for its candidates across the ballot.
