APC State Chairmen Reject Wike’s Coalition, Ask Him to Dump PDP
APC State Chairmen Reject Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, Demand He Join Party.
Several state chapters of the All Progressives Congress have rejected the political coalition associated with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, insisting that he should formally join the ruling party if he wants to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
The position has widened the disagreement between Wike and some APC governors over how support for Tinubu should be organised ahead of the general elections.
The dispute centres on Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which he has presented as a platform focused on supporting Tinubu for president while allowing politicians to back candidates of their choice in governorship and legislative contests.
The reactions came from APC officials in Imo, Gombe, Ondo, Jigawa, Benue, Rivers, Anambra, Kwara, Plateau, Nasarawa, Osun, and Delta. While some chapters called for Wike to join the APC, others said he should remain in the PDP, and some said the decision should be made by the party’s national leadership.
Governors Insist on Clear Allegiance
Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, recently called on Wike to choose between joining the APC and continuing with the coalition. Lawal said APC governors wanted political allegiance to be clearly defined.
“Our message is very, very clear: Be on one side. You can’t be on 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. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not done anywhere,” Lawal said.
He added, “And that is why we maintain our stand, and it is very clear—the message is very clear. He can speak, he can say whatever he wants to say, but our position has been very, very clear: APC all the way from head to toe.”
Asked whether the governors were asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal responded, “Exactly. What’s the essence?”
He further disclosed that he intended to raise Wike’s political position with President Tinubu.
“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 stated.
APC State Chairmen Take Positions
The position has received support from APC officials in several states, although some chapters have avoided taking a definite position, saying the matter should be handled by the party’s national leadership.
The dispute has therefore created a split in how APC State Chairmen view Wike’s role: some see his support for Tinubu as welcome but insufficient without formal membership, while others reject the coalition outright, and a third group says the national leadership should resolve the matter.
In Imo State, APC Publicity Secretary Jones Onwuasoanya said Wike should make his political position clear by joining the ruling party.
“Decency demands that an individual who claims so much allegiance to the philosophies and programmes of a political party should fully align with that political party, rather than playing hide and seek with his loyalty to the party,” Onwuasoanya told The PUNCH.
He added, “If Wike is sincere about his support for President Tinubu, then he should join the APC and begin to campaign for our party across all positions rather than being selective.”
Onwuasoanya also said the Imo APC did not recognise the Rainbow Coalition as a political structure in the state.
“As long as the All Progressives Congress in Imo State is concerned, there is nothing like a Rainbow Coalition or whatever it might be called. The APC is the only viable political platform in Imo State and Imolites are fully aligned with us,” he said.
Insecurity: APC State Chairmen Urge Tinubu to Take Decisive Action
Gombe APC Publicity Secretary Murtala Usman also called for Wike to fully identify with the APC, warning that a separate coalition could create confusion among party stakeholders.
“My opinion is the same as the people who are advising him to join APC because APC doesn’t need any rainbow coalition for now,” Usman said.
“That rainbow coalition will cause some confusion in the APC because those who are stakeholders in the APC, particularly in some states, will find it very difficult to handle,” he stated.
In Ondo State, APC Secretary Alex Kalejaiye opposed a system in which Tinubu would receive support at the presidential level while other parties fielded candidates for legislative and governorship positions.
“We are disturbed that the coalition would only support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the general elections, but field candidates for other positions,” he said.
Kalejaiye said the state chapter intended to support APC candidates across the ballot.
“To us in Ondo State, support for the candidates of the ruling party must be total; our party is committed to mobilising votes for the President, three senatorial, nine representatives, and 26 House of Assembly candidates. That is not negotiable,” Kalejaiye stressed.
He called on Wike to bring his political structure into the APC.
“The APC could therefore appeal to Barr. Nyesom Wike, the leader of the coalition, to collapse his structures into the ruling party, so we could present a common front during the elections,” he said.
Jigawa APC, however, took a more welcoming position. The state Publicity Secretary, Bashir Kundu, said the party appreciated Wike’s support for Tinubu and would welcome him if he decided to defect.
“We in the Jigawa APC welcome the contribution Wike is making in promoting the President and APC candidate for the 2027 election, Bola Tinubu. We will certainly welcome Nyesom Wike if he decides to join our party, the APC.”
Kundu said the APC itself was formed from different political groups and could accommodate people from various political backgrounds.
“I am not aware of such plans, but I know for sure that Wike will not cause that kind of harm to the APC because the party has its own programme,” he said.
Benue and Rivers Add Divisions among APC State Chairmen
In Benue, the reaction was divided. APC organising secretary James Orgunga praised Wike’s support for Tinubu but said he would prefer him to become a formal member of the party.
“Wike has joined APC already, because he is working for the president; we appreciate that, but as a core party man, anyone working for the success of a candidate in my party should be praised,” Orgunga said.
“But I do not subscribe to a rainbow coalition and am of the opinion that Wike join our party.”
Another APC faction in the state expressed a different position. Its publicity secretary, Daniel Ihomun, said Wike should remain in the PDP.
“He should not join APC; he should remain where he is because he has helped to destroy PDP for us,” Ihomun said.
In Rivers State, the disagreement carries additional political weight because Wike governed the state for eight years. The factional APC led by Emeka Beke backed the position of the Progressive Governors Forum against the coalition.
The faction’s publicity secretary, Darlington Nwauju, said supporting candidates from different parties could confuse voters.
“You cannot confuse the electorate by thinking that you can order them into voting for candidate A in party A and candidate B in party B on the same election day,” he stated.
Nwauju added, “My belief is that the Progressive Governors Forum is in the right with the advisory that they have issued. Join the APC or leave her alone. You cannot stand [and] use your association with the APC to rebuild the PDP.”
The Anambra APC chairman, Senator Emmanuel Anosike, also criticised Wike’s involvement in the matter, arguing that he should not interfere in the internal affairs of a party he does not belong to.
“The minister is not a member of the party, hence should stop meddling in the internal affairs of the party,” he stated.
In Kwara, APC chairman Sunday Fagbemi questioned how the coalition would work when several elections are held on the same day.
“What is the level of enlightenment of Nigerian voters? How do you explain to someone that, out of the five elections, at least three—the presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives elections—will be conducted on the same day?” he asked.
He continued, “Will you stand by the ballot box and tell a voter to vote for one party for President and another party for Senate? Even if that were possible, do you want to populate the National Assembly with opposition parties to the President? What kind of support are you giving the President that way?”
Fagbemi said APC members were expected to support the party’s candidates across the ballot.
“I believe the party has been very clear about this: if you are an APC member, the election is five out of five, not even three out of five. As APC members, everyone should vote for the party and its candidates,” he stated.
Plateau APC chairman Rufus Bature said his state chapter had no knowledge of any Rainbow Coalition arrangement.
“We don’t know anything about Rainbow Coalition in Plateau State. I’m just coming from a retreat in Maiduguri with the APC National Chairman and other members of the National Working Committee and Rainbow Coalition was condemned totally for every state,” Bature said.
He added, “If it is going to work in Rivers, that is their problem, but for other states, nobody should go and do anything like Rainbow Coalition.”
Bature said Wike remained free to join the APC but could not operate as a member of two political camps.
“If he wants to join the APC, he is free to do that because we don’t stop people from joining our party. But he cannot be APC in the morning and PDP in the night. We won’t allow that,” he declared.
Nasarawa APC also called for Wike to join the ruling party if he was committed to Tinubu’s re-election.
“As APC members, we do not approve of any coalition that is not recognised or supported by our party’s leadership,” the state publicity secretary, Augustine Ogaba, said.
“The FCT minister has set up his own coalition but decided to support Mr President’s re-election in 2027. I will tell you that we quite appreciate that, but we will be happier if he joins our party,” he added.
Some Chapters Await National Leadership
Some APC chapters have chosen not to take a direct position. In Osun, party spokesman Kola Olabisi said the issue was beyond the state chapter.
“The decision on whether Wike should join APC or not is beyond the state level. It will be decided at the highest level of the party. It is the national level of the party that has the final say on that,” he said.
Delta APC chairman Solomon Arenyeka also said the state chapter was waiting for direction from the national leadership.
“It is the national that makes such policy statements, and when they make a statement it goes down the line. The national has not made a policy statement on it,” Arenyeka said.
Wike Defends Coalition
Wike has defended the coalition and rejected claims that it was created to weaken the APC. He has maintained that his main political objective is to support Tinubu’s re-election while allowing other political parties to contest governorship and legislative elections.
Wike has continued to defend the coalition as a vehicle for supporting Tinubu’s re-election, even as APC chapters demand that he clarify his party allegiance. His position has remained that the coalition is not intended to weaken the APC, and he has rejected claims that it was created to do so.
Channels Television reported that Wike has also rejected suggestions that the coalition was designed to destabilise existing political parties.