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Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has backed the position of governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the Rainbow Coalition associated with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Lawal said Wike must clearly define his political allegiance, arguing that he could not simultaneously support the APC and other political parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Zamfara governor made the remarks during an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“Our message is very very clear, be on one side, you can’t be on two sides. 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,” Lawal said.
His comments followed the position of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), the umbrella body of APC governors, against the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political platform associated with Wike and other political actors seeking support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election.
Lawal said APC governors would maintain their position despite Wike’s comments on the coalition.
“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,” he said.
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When asked during whether the governors were effectively asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal replied, “exactly.”
The Zamfara governor also said he would discuss Wike’s political position with President Tinubu when the President returns from his working visit to France.
“It’s something I will discuss with the President when he comes back. 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,” Lawal said.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has repeatedly declared his support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 while maintaining that the PDP should continue to field candidates in governorship and legislative elections.
The FCT minister has also defended the Rainbow Coalition, rejecting claims that the platform was established to destabilise existing political parties.
Wike said his support for Tinubu was specifically for the presidential election and did not prevent him from supporting PDP candidates in other elections.
