A fresh political battle is brewing inside President Bola Tinubu’s camp as APC leaders across several states move against FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s proposed “Rainbow Coalition”, demanding that the former Rivers governor make a clear choice between joining the ruling party and remaining with the opposition PDP.
The confrontation has exposed growing tensions over who controls the political machinery being assembled ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike, a prominent PDP figure appointed FCT minister by Tinubu after the 2023 election, has thrown his weight behind the President’s bid for a second term. But he has stopped short of defecting to the APC, insisting that his coalition is designed specifically to support Tinubu for president while allowing its members to back candidates from other parties in governorship and legislative contests.
That position has not gone down well with several APC chairmen and governors.
Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal fired the latest salvo, telling Wike to choose between the APC and the Rainbow Coalition.
“Our message is very, very clear: Be on one side. You can’t be on two sides,” Lawal said in an interview with Channels Television.
The governor said Wike should either join the APC and support its candidates or remain outside the party’s affairs.
“Either he’s in APC or he’s out. It’s simple,” Lawal declared, adding that he intended to raise the issue with Tinubu.
The warning has triggered similar reactions from APC leaders in several states.
In Imo, APC Publicity Secretary Jones Onwuasoanya accused Wike of maintaining an ambiguous political position and said that anyone genuinely committed to Tinubu should formally join the ruling party.
“If Wike is sincere about his support for President Tinubu, then he should join the APC,” he said.
The Gombe APC also rejected the coalition, with its publicity secretary, Murtala Usman, warning that the arrangement could create confusion within the ruling party.
His message was blunt: if Wike is working for the APC, he should become a full member rather than operate from outside.
In Ondo, the APC rejected the idea of supporting Tinubu for president while backing opposition candidates in other elections.
State party secretary Alex Kalejaiye said the party's objective was to mobilise votes for all its candidates — from the presidency to the National Assembly and state legislature.
“The support for the candidates of the ruling party must be total,” he said.
Kwara APC Chairman Sunday Fagbemi went further, questioning whether Wike’s strategy could realistically work when presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives elections are conducted simultaneously.
“How do you explain to someone that, out of the five elections, at least three ... will be conducted on the same day?” he asked.
For Plateau APC Chairman Rufus Bature, there is no room for divided allegiance.
“If he wants to join the APC, he is free to do that,” Bature said. “But he cannot be APC in the morning and PDP in the night.”
In Rivers, where Wike remains a powerful political figure, the opposition to his coalition has taken on added significance.
The factional APC led by Emeka Beke backed the Progressive Governors Forum’s position, with publicity secretary Darlington Nwauju insisting that Wike must either join the APC or stay out of its internal affairs.
Not every APC chapter, however, is demanding an immediate confrontation.
Jigawa APC welcomed Wike’s support for Tinubu and said it would gladly receive him if he chose to join the ruling party.
In Osun and Delta, party officials said the question of whether Wike should join APC was ultimately a matter for the national leadership.
The reactions reveal a growing fault line within Tinubu’s political camp: while Wike’s support for the President is welcomed by some APC figures, his attempt to maintain a separate political structure is being challenged by party leaders who want the 2027 campaign machinery firmly under the APC umbrella.
Wike, however, is refusing to back down.
Through his spokesman, Lere Olayinka, the minister has maintained that the Rainbow Coalition is not an APC structure and is not intended to undermine the ruling party.
His argument is that supporting Tinubu does not require coalition members to abandon their political parties or support APC candidates in every contest.
Wike has also pointed to the 2023 election, when he and other members of the PDP’s G5 backed Tinubu without defecting to the APC.
For now, the political standoff continues.
Wike wants the freedom to build a broad coalition around Tinubu.
Several APC chairmen want him inside the party — and under its structure.
With 2027 drawing closer, the clash over the Rainbow Coalition could become an early test of who ultimately controls the political machinery behind Tinubu’s re-election campaign.
APC Chairmen Collide with Wike
