Join APC or leave us alone, Zamfara Gov Tells Wike

Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has asked Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to clarify his political allegiance ahead of the 2027 elections.

He said he (Wike) cannot simultaneously support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and back candidates of other parties.

Lawal said the position of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governors on Wike’s Rainbow Coalition remained unchanged, despite the minister’s continued defence of the cross-party platform.

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The governor’s comments add another phase to the disagreement between Wike and several APC governors over the political implications of the Rainbow Coalition.

The coalition brings together aggrieved politicians from different parties to support Tinubu’s 2027 presidential bid.

Wike has maintained that supporting Tinubu does not require members of the coalition to abandon their respective parties or surrender their freedom to contest other positions against APC candidates.

The minister had earlier said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) should remain free to field candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state House of Assembly elections, even as members of the coalition mobilise support for Tinubu at the presidential level.

He has also rejected suggestions that the Rainbow Coalition is an APC project.

That position has brought the minister into disagreement with APC governors.

They have subsequently called for stronger coordination to support the president and the party’s candidates at other levels.

Wike, while defending the coalition, had also questioned the criticism from APC governors.

He said referenced the role played by the G5 governors in the 2023 presidential election that Tinubu won.

The former Rivers governor has since emerged as one of the prominent political figures outside the APC openly backing Tinubu’s re-election.

He has done this while retaining his links with the PDP and advocating a broader coalition structure.

But speaking in an interview with Inside Sources on Channels Television, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Governor demanded consistency from Wike for Tinubu.

According to him, supporting Tinubu for the presidency while allowing other parties to challenge APC candidates in governorship and legislative elections was inconsistent with the expectations of members of the ruling party.

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

The governor said Wike should either openly support the APC across the board or reconsider his continued association with the Rainbow 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,” he said.

When asked directly whether the APC governors wanted Wike to join the ruling party, Lawal replied: “Exactly. What’s the essence?”

He further disclosed that he intended to raise the matter with Tinubu.

The Governor argued that Wike’s political position should be clearly defined before the 2027 electoral contest gathers further momentum.

“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.

On Wike’s recent description of some APC governors as lazy, Lawal dismissed the remark and challenging anyone to assess his administration’s record in Zamfara.

“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,” he said.

“The difference is very, very clear. I invite anybody to come and see what we’re doing in Zamfara State,” the governor added.