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Toyyibat Qasim
Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has challenged Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to clarify his political allegiance, insisting that he cannot simultaneously support the ruling All Progressives Congress and other political parties ahead of the 2027 elections..
Lawal, who spoke in an interview with Channels Television on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, said members of the APC Governors Forum remain opposed to the cross-party political arrangement associated with Wike and known as the Rainbow Coalition.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, has publicly supported President Bola Tinubu’s bid for re-election in 2027 and has been associated with the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party platform comprising politicians from different political backgrounds.
The development, however, has triggered disagreements within the ruling party, with the Progressive Governors’ Forum rejecting the coalition, arguing that such an agreement could undermine the President’s re-election campaign.
Lawal said the position of APC governors is clear, urging Wike to decide where his political allegiance lies.
“Our message is very, very clear: stand on one side; you cannot stand on two sides. If you are in the APC, please come out and support the APC, you are not supporting the APC here and you are supporting other political parties somewhere else,” the governor said.
Asked whether the governors were actually asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal replied: “Exactly.”
The Zamfara governor maintained that APC governors would not change their position regardless of Wike’s public statements.
“We stand our ground and the message is very clear. He can talk, he can say whatever he wants to say, but our stand has been very clear, APC from head to toe,” Lawal added.
Lawal also revealed that he intends to raise the issue with President Tinubu when the President returns from his working holiday in France.
“It is something I will discuss with the President when he comes back. Let there be a clear line where this guy belongs. Either he is in the APC or he is out, simple as that. So I go with my brothers, the governors,” he said.
Wike, for his part, has repeatedly said that supporting Tinubu’s re-election is his top political priority ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.
The FCT minister made the position known on Monday in Abuja while speaking with journalists after inspecting ongoing road projects in the nation’s capital.
He also rejected claims that the Rainbow Coalition was established to destabilize existing political parties.
Despite his support for Tinubu at the presidential level, Wike has remained associated with PDP politicians and candidates in some states, including Imo and Kwara, adding another dimension to the political debate over his allegiance ahead of the 2027 elections.
The latest exchange comes amid growing realignments among political actors ahead of the 2027 general elections, with politicians from different parties increasingly forming alliances around presidential and state-level contests.
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