2027: Lawal asks Wike to choose between APC and other parties

ABUJA — Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has called on FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to clearly state where his political allegiance lies amid his participation in the Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Lawal maintained that Wike could not support the APC while at the same time backing candidates contesting under other political parties.

Speaking with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, the governor said APC governors remained firm in their position on the issue.

Lawal said Wike should either join and support the APC or stay outside the party.

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

“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.

“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.”

The Zamfara governor said he planned to discuss the matter with President Bola Tinubu after the President returns from his working vacation abroad.

He also said the APC governors were encouraging Wike to join the ruling party.

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

“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.”

Wike remains a member of the PDP and has been linked to the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party platform seeking to mobilise support for President Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.

The FCT minister has said the coalition is distinct from the APC and that its support for Tinubu does not prevent other political parties from presenting candidates for governorship and legislative positions.

However, APC governors have opposed the arrangement. The Progressive Governors Forum, led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, said its members would not support or endorse any political arrangement that could weaken the APC or negatively affect its candidates in the 2027 elections.

At the centre of the disagreement is whether backing Tinubu for president can be combined with supporting candidates from other parties in governorship and legislative contests.

Wike has maintained that it can, citing the G5 governors’ experience during the 2023 elections as an example.

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