By Ade Oyeyemi
Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has asked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to clarify his political allegiance ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Lawal said Wike could not simultaneously support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and back candidates of other political parties in governorship and legislative contests.
The governor spoke on Thursday during an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
His comments came amid an ongoing disagreement between Wike and governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress over the minister’s Rainbow Coalition.
Lawal said the position of APC governors on the coalition remained unchanged, insisting that political actors supporting Tinubu’s presidential bid should also identify with the APC structure.
“Our message is very, very clear: Be on one side. You can’t be in two sides. 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,” he said.
Asked whether the governors were effectively asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal responded, “Exactly. What’s the essence?”
He said he intended to discuss the matter with Tinubu, adding that Wike’s political position should be clearly defined.
“It’s either he’s in APC or he’s out. It’s simple. And I go with my brothers, the governors,” Lawal stated.
The dispute centres on Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which the FCT minister has described as a cross-party platform mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election while allowing political parties to field their own candidates for other elective positions.
Wike has maintained that his support for Tinubu does not mean that the Peoples Democratic Party should abandon its candidates in the 2027 governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections. He has also insisted that the coalition is not an APC structure.
The position has, however, drawn opposition from APC governors, who recently said they would not support any political arrangement they believe could undermine the party, its candidates or Tinubu’s re-election.
Lawal also reacted to Wike’s description of some APC governors as lazy, saying the FCT minister was aware of the individuals he was referring to.
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“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. The difference is very, very clear. I invite anybody to come and see what we’re doing in Zamfara State,” he said.
The exchange adds to the widening political disagreement over how support for Tinubu at the presidential level should relate to party candidates contesting other positions in the 2027 elections.
