Pressure is mounting on FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to formally join the All Progressives Congress as APC state chairmen across the country increasingly reject his Rainbow Coalition while backing his support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election.
The chairmen argue that Wike’s continued membership of the Peoples Democratic Party is incompatible with his declared support for Tinubu when the APC is fielding candidates for the presidency, National Assembly and state elections.
The renewed push followed growing disagreements between Wike and members of the APC Governors’ Forum over his political coalition.
Wike has repeatedly maintained that his support is specifically for Tinubu’s presidential re-election and does not amount to support for APC candidates in other elections.
But several APC state chapters insist that anyone campaigning for Tinubu should also support the party’s candidates across the ballot.
Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal, who has articulated the position of several APC governors, recently told Channels Television that Wike should make his political position clear.
“Our message is very, very clear: Be on one side. You can’t be on two sides,” Lawal said.
Asked whether the governors wanted Wike to join APC, he replied: “Exactly. What’s the essence?”
Lawal also said he would raise the matter with Tinubu, insisting that there should be a clear line on where Wike belongs politically.
The position has received support from several APC state chapters.
In Imo, APC Publicity Secretary Jones Onwuasoanya said Wike should formally identify with the party if his support for Tinubu was genuine.
He argued that Wike should join APC and campaign for its candidates rather than selectively supporting the President.
The Gombe APC also urged the minister to complete his political alignment with the ruling party.
“We appreciate what he is doing, but Wike should switch to APC completely,” the state party’s Publicity Secretary, Murtala Usman, said.
In Ondo, APC Secretary Alex Kalejaiye rejected the idea of supporting Tinubu for President while backing candidates of other parties in legislative and state elections.
He urged Wike to collapse his political structures into APC to enable the party to present a common front in 2027.
The Jigawa APC, however, adopted a more accommodating position.
The party’s Publicity Secretary, Bashir Kundu, said the chapter welcomed Wike’s support for Tinubu and would also welcome him if he decided to join APC.
The issue has produced differing views within the Benue APC.
While James Orgunga, an organising secretary of one faction, praised Wike’s support for Tinubu but said he preferred the minister to join APC, Daniel Ihomun, a spokesman for another faction, argued that Wike should remain in the PDP.
In Rivers, an APC faction led by Emeka Beke backed the position of the Progressive Governors Forum, with its Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, saying Wike could not retain his PDP membership while seeking to influence APC structures.
Similar opposition came from the APC chapters in Anambra, Kwara, Plateau and Nasarawa.
Kwara APC Chairman Sunday Fagbemi questioned how the Rainbow Coalition would operate when presidential and legislative candidates from different political parties appear on the same ballot.
Plateau APC Chairman Rufus Bature said Wike was free to join the party but rejected the idea of divided political loyalty.
Nasarawa APC Publicity Secretary Augustine Ogaba said the party appreciated Wike’s support for Tinubu but would prefer him as a full APC member.
However, not all APC chapters have taken a hard-line position.
Osun APC spokesman Kola Olabisi said the question of whether Wike should join the party should be determined by the national leadership.
Delta APC Chairman Solomon Arenyeka similarly said the state chapter was awaiting a policy directive from the national party.
The APC chapters in Sokoto, Niger and Bauchi also avoided endorsing a broader confrontation with Wike, with officials stressing either the absence of the coalition in their states or the need for clear party loyalty.
Wike, for his part, has rejected claims that the Rainbow Coalition is an APC structure.
Through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, the minister has maintained that the coalition is focused on supporting Tinubu’s presidential re-election and does not stop other political parties from fielding candidates for governorship and legislative positions.
Wike has also pointed to the 2023 election, when he and other members of the G5 supported Tinubu without leaving the PDP.
The widening disagreement now places Wike’s coalition at the intersection of two competing positions: his insistence that support for Tinubu does not require joining APC, and the growing demand from APC officials that support for the President should translate into support for the ruling party and its candidates.