Several state chapters of the All Progressives Congress have rejected the Rainbow Coalition being promoted by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barrister Nyesom Wike, with party leaders asking the former Rivers State governor to formally join the ruling party if he is genuinely committed to the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
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The reactions followed a renewed confrontation between the minister and the party’s governors over the political structure he is assembling ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The minister remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party while serving in a federal government led by an All Progressives Congress President. He was appointed to the portfolio after the 2023 election, despite having remained a prominent figure in the opposition party and having contested the presidency on its platform.
While some chapters welcomed his support for the President and said they would receive him if he chose to defect, others opposed the coalition outright, arguing that a politician cannot simultaneously support the ruling party at the presidential level and the candidates of other parties in governorship and legislative elections.
The dispute has exposed a growing disagreement within the President’s political camp over how support for his re-election should be organised, and over who should control the structures through which it is mobilised.
What Triggered It
The latest exchange was set off by the Governor of Zamfara State, Dr. Dauda Lawal, who told the minister to choose between joining the party and remaining with the coalition.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, he said the position of the party’s governors was unchanged.
“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,” he said.
“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 the minister to join the party, he replied: “Exactly. What’s the essence?”
He disclosed that he intended to raise the matter with the President. “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.”
Imo: “Playing Hide And Seek With His Loyalty”
The party’s Publicity Secretary in Imo State, Mr. Jones Onwuasoanya, said the minister was maintaining an ambiguous political position.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
He dismissed the coalition as a structure with little relevance 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 added: “There is no political arrangement or structure outside the APC that poses any threat to our party’s electoral chances.”
Gombe: “Not A Partial Member”
The party’s Publicity Secretary in Gombe State, Mr. Murtala Usman, urged the minister to complete his political transition.
“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,” he said.
He warned that the arrangement could create confusion within the party. “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 argued that recent defections of Peoples Democratic Party governors to the ruling party had already created difficulties for some long-standing members.
“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,” he said.
Ondo: “Support Must Be Total”
The Secretary of the party in Ondo State, Mr. Alex Kalejaiye, said the arrangement was unacceptable to the chapter.
“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.
“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.”
He warned that supporting different parties on the same ballot could confuse voters and complicate the electoral process, and appealed to the minister to fold the coalition into the party.
“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: “We Will Certainly Welcome Him”
The party in Jigawa State took a different view.
“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,” the state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Bashir Kundu, said.
He argued that the party had itself emerged from a coalition of political parties and could accommodate politicians from different backgrounds, and dismissed concerns that the minister could harm its electoral interests.
“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: Two Factions, Two Answers
Reactions in Benue State reflected the existing divisions within the chapter.
The organising secretary of one faction, Mr. James Orgunga, praised the minister while saying he would prefer a formal defection.
“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,” he said. “But I do not subscribe to a rainbow coalition and am of the opinion that Wike join our party.”
The publicity secretary of another faction, loyal to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, took the opposite position.
“He should not join APC; he should remain where he is because he has helped to destroy PDP for us,” Mr. Daniel Ihomun said.
He claimed that a coalition structure already existed in the state under what he described as the Benue Strategic Alliance for Tinubu, involving members of the All Progressives Congress, the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party.
Rivers: “You Cannot Confuse The Electorate”
In the minister’s own state, the faction of the party led by Mr. Emeka Beke backed the Progressive Governors Forum’s opposition to the coalition.
Its publicity secretary, Mr. Darlington Nwauju, said the minister could not simultaneously maintain loyalty to the opposition party and work with the ruling party, citing the level of political education in the country.
“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 said.
“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,” he added, alleging that the minister’s activities could contribute to a revival of the opposition party.
Anambra: “An Insult To The Integrity Of The APC”
The Chairman of the party in Anambra State, Senator Emmanuel Anosike, described the coalition as an affront.
“It amounts to an insult to the integrity and sensibility of the APC and its governors for Wike to make such comments,” he said.
“The minister is not a member of the party, hence should stop meddling in the internal affairs of the party,” he added, saying the governors had sufficient structures to deliver the President in 2027.
“Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State is the leader of the APC Governors Forum, and he is in full control of the party structures across the country through the members of the Forum and has shown capacity having delivered Mr President at his first term election and still has all that it takes to do it again in 2027,” he said.
He described the intervention as an attempt to remain politically relevant, and said the chapter did not recognise the coalition as an alternative structure.
Kwara: “A Grand Deception”
The Chairman of the party in Kwara State, Mr. Sunday Fagbemi, questioned the practicality of the strategy, describing it as “a grand deception and a confusing strategy,” particularly because the presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives 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.
“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?”
“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 said.
Plateau: “Condemned Totally For Every State”
The Chairman of the party in Plateau State, Mr. Rufus Bature, said the chapter had no knowledge of any coalition structure in the state, and reported that the matter had been addressed at national level.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
He said the minister remained free to join. “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 suggested a longer-term motive: “I think he just wanted to build structure for himself against the 2031 or 2035 election.” Asked whether the coalition could pose a threat, he said: “The coalition might be a threat, but we are not taking it for granted.”
Nasarawa: “We Will Be Happier If He Joins”
The Publicity Secretary of the party in Nasarawa State, Mr. Augustine Ogaba, commended the minister while rejecting the arrangement.
“As APC members, we do not approve of any coalition that is not recognised or supported by our party’s leadership,” he 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.”
Osun And Delta: A Matter For The National Leadership
Some chapters declined to take a position.
In Osun State, the party’s spokesman, Mr. Kola Olabisi, said: “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.”
The Chairman of the party in Delta State, Mr. Solomon Arenyeka, said the chapter was awaiting a formal position. “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,” he said.
Bayelsa, Sokoto, Niger And Bauchi
In Bayelsa State, a chieftain of the party, Mr. Doubara Joseph, said: “If Wike is actually working for President Tinubu and believes in the President’s leadership, then the straightforward thing for him to do is to join the APC. You cannot claim to be working for the President while simultaneously sustaining another political platform.” The state chairman, Mr. Warman Ogoriba, declined to comment.
The Chairman of the party in Sokoto State, Mr. Haruna Adiya, said the chapter had no member in the coalition and declined to take a broader position. “We have no issues with the Rainbow Coalition. We have no member of the coalition in Sokoto State,” he said.
In Niger State, the party’s spokesman, Mr. Musa Sarkin-Kaji, said: “The APC in Niger State has no business with Wike, although we appreciate his relationship with our party. And you know we are in a democracy, and everyone has the freedom of association.”
In Bauchi State, the spokesman, Mr. Shehu Dauda, said the party did not believe in divided loyalty. “We don’t believe in someone in another party claiming to be with us, or our party members claiming not to support any of our candidates. Whoever is with the APC should be with it and not divide their loyalty.”
The Minister’s Defence
The minister has consistently rejected the argument that the coalition is a structure of the ruling party or that it is intended to undermine it.
In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, he said the coalition’s support was specifically for the President’s re-election and did not prevent other political parties from contesting governorship and legislative elections.
He has argued that his position is consistent with the arrangement that existed before the 2023 presidential election, when he and other members of the G5 supported the President without formally joining the party, and has maintained that politics is local and that political actors should be allowed to determine their alliances at state level.
In a subsequent public appearance, he again said his immediate concern was the President’s re-election, and rejected suggestions that the coalition was designed to destabilise the ruling party.
His position differs from that of the party’s governors, who have argued that support for the President must not be separated from support for the party’s candidates for other offices.
Umahi: “No Rainbow Coalition In Ebonyi”
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, a former Governor of Ebonyi State who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling party, said there was no coalition structure in his 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,” he said.
He warned political actors against hate speech and attempts to cause disorder during campaigns. “Anybody that wants to campaign, come and campaign. But don’t dish out hate speeches and you want to take those speeches, and you want that we should lay a red carpet for you. We will not do that. Nobody can foment crisis in Ebonyi State,” he added.
The PDP’s Position
Despite the calls for the minister to join the ruling party, figures in the Peoples Democratic Party insist that he remains a member of the opposition.
In Abia State, the party’s deputy governorship candidate, Mr. Abraham Amah, described the invitations as political courting.
“It is normal practice. When you see somebody who is doing well, a politician who is doing well, you want that person to become a member of your party,” he said.
“But one thing is certain: that he remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, and he is the national leader of the party.”
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