From Kayemo News
Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal and the Minister for Work, Dave Umahi have voiced their opposition to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his involvement in the Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Lawal said Wike could not simultaneously support the All Progressives Congress (APC) and candidates of other political parties, urging the minister to make his position clear.
The governor spoke in an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
He said the position of APC governors on the matter remained unchanged, stressing that Wike should either align with the APC or remain outside the party.
“Our message is very, very clear: be on one side, you can’t be on two sides,” Lawal said.
“If you are in APC, please come out and support the APC, not you are supporting APC here and you are supporting some other political parties somewhere else.
“We maintain our stand and the message is very clear. He can speak, he can say whatever he wants to say, but our position has been very clear, APC all the way from head to toe.”
Lawal said he would discuss Wike’s political position with President Bola Tinubu when the President returns from his working vacation abroad.
He added that the APC governors were asking Wike to join the ruling party.
“It’s something I will discuss with the President when he comes back,” he said.
“Let there be a clear line where this guy belongs to. It’s either he is in APC or he is out, simple. So I go with my brothers, the governors.”
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been associated with the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party platform mobilising support for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The FCT minister has maintained that the coalition is separate from the APC and is intended to mobilise support for Tinubu while allowing other political parties to field candidates in governorship and legislative elections.
The position has, however, drawn opposition from APC governors. The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF), led by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, said its members would not participate in, support or endorse any political arrangement capable of weakening the APC or adversely affecting its candidates in the 2027 elections.
The disagreement has centred on whether support for Tinubu’s presidential bid can coexist with support for candidates from other parties in governorship and legislative contests.
Wike has argued that supporting Tinubu does not require abandoning candidates of other political parties, citing the experience of the G5 governors during the 2023 elections.
In another development, the Minister of Works and former governor of Ebonyi, David Umahi, has ruled out the existence of the Rainbow Coalition in Ebonyi, declaring that the state remains firmly aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
The Rainbow Coalition is a multi-party platform promoted by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid while allowing politicians from different parties to retain their affiliations and support candidates in other elections.
Umahi also warned politicians planning to campaign in the state against hate speech and actions capable of triggering unrest, insisting that no political actor would be allowed to foment crisis in Ebonyi.
“Nobody can foment crisis in Ebonyi State,” the minister said.
He made the remarks on Friday, September 25, 2026, while inspecting Section Two of the Calabar-Abuja Superhighway project in Ado, Benue State.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by Francis Nwaze, Senior Special Assistant to Umahi on Media, the minister said, “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’s comments come amid disagreements between Wike and some APC governors over the political arrangements being considered ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Umahi maintained that political actors were free to campaign in Ebonyi but cautioned against inflammatory rhetoric and attempts to destabilise the state.
“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,” he said.
The former governor also revisited his decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accusing the party of failing to recognise the interests of the South-East despite the region’s support for its presidential candidates.
“We supported PDP. We voted for presidents in PDP. And when it was our time for them to honour us, they did not honour us. They maltreated us,” Umahi said.