State chairmen of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have urged FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to end the ambiguity surrounding his political allegiance by joining the party.

The chairmen argued that Wike cannot publicly support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election while remaining a member of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The calls followed renewed debate over Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, a political arrangement linked to efforts to support Tinubu’s presidential bid without necessarily backing APC candidates in other contests.

Wike, who served as Rivers State governor under the PDP, was appointed FCT minister by Tinubu after the 2023 election. Although he has repeatedly declared support for the President’s return in 2027, he has not formally left the PDP.

That position has divided APC members. Some party leaders have welcomed Wike’s backing for Tinubu, while others insist that his continued PDP membership makes his political role unclear. 

Zamfara Governor Dauda Lawal recently articulated the position of several APC governors, asking Wike to choose between joining the ruling party and maintaining the coalition.

Lawal spoke on Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“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.

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 wanted Wike to join the APC, Lawal replied, “Exactly. What’s the essence?”

The governor also said he intended to raise the matter with 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 said.

Several state chapters have echoed that position, though the intensity of their opposition to the coalition varies.

In Imo, APC Publicity Secretary Jones Onwuasoanya said Wike should formally identify with the party if his support for Tinubu was genuine.

“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.

Onwuasoanya 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.”

He also dismissed the Rainbow Coalition as a political force in Imo.

“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.

Gombe APC Publicity Secretary Murtala Usman also advised Wike to complete his alignment with the ruling party.

“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.

He warned that the coalition could complicate political calculations in states where APC members were already competing for influence.

“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.

In Ondo, APC Secretary Alex Kalejaiye objected to a structure that would support Tinubu for President while backing candidates from other parties in legislative and state elections.

“We are disturbed that the coalition would only support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in the general elections, but field candidates for other positions,” Kalejaiye said.

He said the party would campaign for all its candidates.

“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 said.

Kalejaiye urged Wike to merge his political structures with 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 stated.

Jigawa APC adopted a more accommodating tone. The state party’s Publicity Secretary, Bashir Kundu, said Wike would be welcomed 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.

He noted that the APC itself emerged from a merger of political parties, suggesting that Wike’s background would not prevent him from joining.

The issue has generated competing views within the Benue APC. James Orgunga, an organising secretary of one faction, praised Wike’s support for Tinubu but said he would rather see him become a formal APC member.

“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.”

Daniel Ihomun, a spokesman for another faction, disagreed.

“He should not join APC; he should remain where he is because he has helped to destroy PDP for us,” Ihomun said.

In Rivers, Wike’s home state, an APC faction led by Emeka Beke supported the position of the Progressive Governors Forum.

The faction’s Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, said Wike could not retain his PDP membership while attempting to shape the APC’s political structure.

“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,” Nwauju said.

He 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.”

Anambra APC chairman Senator Emmanuel Anosike also criticised Wike’s involvement in the party’s affairs.

“It amounts to an insult to the integrity and sensibility of the APC and its governors for Wike to make such comments,” Anosike said.

He added, “The minister is not a member of the party, hence should stop meddling in the internal affairs of the party.”

Kwara APC chairman Sunday Fagbemi questioned how the coalition would function when presidential and legislative candidates from different parties appeared on the same ballot.

“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?” Fagbemi 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?”

Plateau APC chairman Rufus Bature said his chapter did not recognise the Rainbow Coalition but would not prevent Wike from joining the party.

“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,” Bature said.

Nasarawa APC Publicity Secretary Augustine Ogaba similarly welcomed Wike’s support for Tinubu but said the party would prefer him as a member.

“As APC members, we do not approve of any coalition that is not recognised or supported by our party’s leadership,” 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.

Other chapters have avoided taking a definitive position.

Osun APC spokesman Kola Olabisi said the matter should be resolved by the national leadership.

“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,” Olabisi said.

Delta APC chairman Solomon Arenyeka also said the state chapter was awaiting guidance from the national party.

“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.

In Bayelsa, APC chieftain Doubara Joseph said Wike should join the party if his support for Tinubu was sincere.

“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,” Joseph said.

In Sokoto, Niger and Bauchi, party officials either declined to adopt a broader position or said their chapters had no formal connection to the coalition.

Sokoto APC chairman Haruna Adiya said, “We have no issues with the Rainbow Coalition. We have no member of the coalition in Sokoto State.”

Niger APC spokesman 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.”

Bauchi APC spokesman Shehu Dauda said the party did not support 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,” he said.

Wike has rejected the claim that his coalition is an APC structure. Through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, he has said the arrangement is limited to supporting Tinubu’s presidential re-election and does not prevent other parties from contesting governorship and legislative seats.

He has also cited the period before the 2023 presidential election, when he and other members of the G5 backed Tinubu without formally leaving the PDP.