APC State Chapters has rejected Wike’s Rainbow Coalition and demand he joins party.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that several state chapters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) have rejected the Rainbow Coalition being promoted by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, urging the former Rivers State governor to formally join the ruling party if he is committed to President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The opposition followed renewed disagreements between Wike and APC governors over the political structure being assembled ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), despite serving as a minister in the APC-led Federal Government of President Tinubu. He was appointed FCT minister after the 2023 presidential election, having previously contested the PDP presidential primary.
Several APC leaders have welcomed Wike’s support for Tinubu but argued that his support should extend to the APC and its candidates at all levels.
The latest dispute was triggered by Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, who called on Wike to choose between joining the APC and remaining with the Rainbow Coalition.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Lawal said APC governors remained opposed to what they described as divided political loyalty.
“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.”
When asked whether the governors were asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal replied, “Exactly. What’s the essence?”
He also said he would discuss Wike’s political position with Tinubu.
“It’s either he’s in APC or he’s out. It’s simple. And I go with my brothers, the governors,” Lawal said.
APC chapters oppose Rainbow Coalition
In Imo State, APC Publicity Secretary Jones Onwuasoanya urged Wike to formally join the ruling party if he was sincere about supporting Tinubu.
He argued that Wike should campaign for APC candidates across all positions rather than selectively supporting the party at the presidential level.
Onwuasoanya also said the Imo APC did not recognise the Rainbow Coalition as a political structure in the state.
In Gombe, APC Publicity Secretary Murtala Usman similarly called on Wike to complete his transition into the APC, arguing that the coalition could create confusion among party stakeholders.
“So Wike should switch to APC completely. Since he is doing the work of APC, let him be a full member, not a partial member,” Usman said.
The Ondo State APC also rejected the coalition’s approach, saying support for Tinubu should be accompanied by support for APC candidates contesting legislative and state elections.
State party secretary Alex Kalejaiye said the chapter was committed to mobilising votes for Tinubu as well as APC candidates for the Senate, House of Representatives and state House of Assembly.
The Ondo chapter subsequently called on Wike to collapse his political structures into the APC.
Jigawa welcomes Wike’s support for Tinubu
The position was different in Jigawa, where APC Publicity Secretary Bashir Kundu welcomed Wike’s support for Tinubu and said the party would receive him if he decided to join.
“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.
In Benue, the issue has exposed divisions within the state APC.
James Orgunga, organising secretary of one of the APC factions, praised Wike’s support for Tinubu but said he preferred the FCT minister to formally join the APC.
However, Daniel Ihomun, publicity secretary of another faction loyal to Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, argued that 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.
He also claimed that a Rainbow Coalition structure already existed in Benue under what he described as the “Benue Strategic Alliance for Tinubu.”
Rivers APC raises dual-loyalty concerns
In Rivers State, where Wike served as governor, the controversy has attracted particular attention.
The factional APC led by Emeka Beke backed the Progressive Governors Forum’s opposition to the coalition.
The faction’s publicity secretary, Darlington Nwauju, argued that Wike could not maintain his PDP membership while attempting to influence the APC’s political structure.
“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,” Nwauju said.
He also argued that asking voters to support candidates from different parties in simultaneous elections could create confusion.
Anambra APC rejects coalition
Anambra State APC chairman Emmanuel Anosike described Wike’s intervention as interference in the affairs of a party of which he is not a member.
“The minister is not a member of the party, hence should stop meddling in the internal affairs of the party,” Anosike said.
He added that APC governors and party structures were capable of mobilising support for Tinubu in 2027.
Kwara questions electoral strategy
Kwara State APC chairman Sunday Fagbemi also questioned how the Rainbow Coalition strategy would work during elections in which presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives contests are conducted on the same day.
He argued that asking voters to support different political parties across the ballot could create practical difficulties.
Fagbemi said APC members were expected to support the party’s candidates across the ballot.
Plateau says Wike can join APC
Plateau State APC chairman Rufus Bature said the party had no recognised Rainbow Coalition structure in the state.
“We don’t know anything about Rainbow Coalition in Plateau State,” Bature said.
He added that Wike remained free to join the APC but would not be accepted as simultaneously operating within the APC and PDP.
“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,” he said.
Bature also suggested that the coalition could have implications beyond the 2027 election cycle.
Some APC chapters remain cautious
Not all APC chapters have taken a definitive position.
In Osun State, APC spokesman Kola Olabisi said the question of Wike joining the party was a matter for the national leadership.
Delta APC chairman Solomon Arenyeka similarly said the state chapter was waiting for a formal position from the national leadership.
In Bayelsa, APC chieftain Doubara Joseph called on Wike to join the APC if he was genuinely committed to Tinubu, while state chairman Warman Ogoriba declined to comment.
Sokoto APC chairman Haruna Adiya said the state chapter had no member in the Rainbow Coalition and declined to take a broader position on the controversy.
Wike defends Rainbow Coalition
Wike has rejected the argument that the Rainbow Coalition is an APC structure or that it is intended to undermine the ruling party.
Through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Wike has maintained that the coalition’s support is specifically for Tinubu’s presidential re-election and does not prevent other political parties from fielding candidates for governorship and legislative elections.
Wike has also pointed to the political arrangement preceding the 2023 presidential election, when he and other members of the G5 supported Tinubu without formally defecting to the APC.
The FCT minister has repeatedly argued that “politics is local” and that political actors should retain the freedom to determine their alliances at the state level.
Minister of Works David Umahi, a former PDP governor who later joined the APC, said there was no Rainbow Coalition in Ebonyi State.
“If Wike has candidates here, he has not told me. And his candidate cannot break our relationship, but his candidate is not part of our relationship. There is no rainbow coalition in Ebonyi State,” Umahi said.
PDP insists Wike remains its member
Despite calls from APC figures for Wike to join the ruling party, some PDP figures maintain that the FCT minister remains a member of the opposition party.
In Abia State, PDP deputy governorship candidate Abraham Amah said Wike remained a PDP member and described the APC’s invitation as political courting.
“But one thing is certain: that he remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, and he is the national leader of the party,” Amah said.
The dispute over Wike’s Rainbow Coalition has therefore become part of a wider disagreement within Tinubu’s political camp over whether support for the President in 2027 can operate independently of the APC’s candidates and structures across the states.
