The political disagreement between the All Progressives Congress and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has deepened as APC leaders insist that support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election should be channelled through the party’s structure.
Several APC state chapters have rejected Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, arguing that those supporting Tinubu should also back candidates fielded by the APC in governorship and legislative elections.
The development follows renewed criticism from APC governors over Wike’s decision to remain a member of the Peoples Democratic Party while supporting Tinubu for the presidency.
Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, recently told Wike to either join the APC or abandon the coalition, saying political allegiance should be clearly defined ahead of the 2027 elections.
Lawal said the APC governors’ position remained that Wike could not support Tinubu at the presidential level while backing candidates from other parties in governorship and legislative contests.
The disagreement centres on Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which the former Rivers State governor has presented as a platform for people from different political parties to support Tinubu’s re-election.
Wike has maintained that supporting Tinubu does not mean supporting APC candidates in every other election, arguing that political parties should remain free to field their own candidates.
However, APC governors have maintained that they would not support any political arrangement that could weaken the party or its candidates.
The APC Governors Forum had earlier said its members would campaign exclusively for APC candidates at all levels, further highlighting the difference between the governors’ position and Wike’s approach to the 2027 elections.
The dispute therefore goes beyond Wike’s political affiliation, with both sides appearing to differ over how support for Tinubu should translate into political organisation across the states.
