Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has asked Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to clarify his political position ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Lawal said Wike could not simultaneously support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election while backing candidates from other political parties in governorship and legislative contests.
The governor spoke in an interview with Inside Sources on Channels Television on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
His comments come amid growing disagreement between Wike and some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the structure and political objectives of the Rainbow Coalition.
The coalition comprises politicians from different political parties who are working to support Tinubu’s bid for a second term in 2027.
Wike has maintained that supporting Tinubu at the presidential level does not require members of the coalition to leave their political parties or stop supporting candidates from those parties in other elections.
The minister has argued that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for instance, should remain free to field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state House of Assembly elections.
He has also rejected claims that the Rainbow Coalition is an APC project.
However, APC governors have called for greater coordination among supporters of the president and the ruling party's candidates across the different levels of the 2027 elections.
Lawal said the position of APC governors on Wike's approach to the coalition remained unchanged.
“Our message is very, very clear: Be on one side. You can’t be in two sides,” the governor said.
He urged Wike to either join the APC and support the party's candidates or reconsider his continued involvement with the coalition.
“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.
Asked whether APC governors wanted Wike to formally join the ruling party, Lawal replied: “Exactly. What’s the essence?”
The Zamfara governor also said he planned to discuss the matter with Tinubu, stressing the need for Wike's political affiliation and commitments to be clearly defined ahead of the 2027 elections.
“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,” he said.
Wike has previously defended the coalition by pointing to the role played by the G5 governors during the 2023 presidential election, when the group refused to support the PDP's presidential candidate.
He remains a prominent political figure outside the APC who has publicly backed Tinubu's re-election while retaining his membership of the PDP.
Meanwhile, Lawal dismissed Wike's recent criticism of some APC governors as “lazy.”
He said the performance of his administration in Zamfara could be assessed by anyone interested in measuring his record.
“Well, I mean, he knows the people he’s referring to, honestly. As for me, I mean, you can’t say that in Zamfara State,” Lawal said.
“The difference is very, very clear. I invite anybody to come and see what we’re doing in Zamfara State,” he added.
