You Can’t Be On Two Sides – APC Governor Asks Minister Wike To Choose Between APC, Other Parties
You Can’t Be On Two Sides – APC Governor Asks Minister Wike To Choose Between APC, Other Parties
The governor also said he would discuss Wike’s political position with Tinubu when the President returns from his working vacation in France.
The Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has told Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to clarify his political allegiance, saying Wike cannot support the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties at the same time.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, has been associated with the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political platform backing President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
However, the Progressives Governors Forum, the umbrella body of APC governors, has rejected the coalition, arguing that such an arrangement could undermine the President’s re-election bid.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Lawal said Wike had to choose where his political allegiance lies.
“Our message is very very clear, be on one side, you can’t be on two sides. 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,” he said.
Lawal said the APC governors would maintain their position regardless of Wike’s comments on the issue.
“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,” he said.
Asked whether the governors were effectively asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal replied, “exactly”.
The governor also said he would discuss Wike’s political position with Tinubu when the President returns from his working vacation in France.
“It’s something I will discuss with the President when he comes back. 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.”
The comments followed the PGF’s rejection of a proposed cross-party political arrangement involving APC members.
Wike has, however, reaffirmed his support for Tinubu’s re-election, saying securing victory for the President in the 2027 presidential election remains his major political priority.
The FCT Minister had made the declaration on Monday in Abuja while speaking with journalists after inspecting ongoing road projects across the Federal Capital Territory.
He also rejected allegations that the Rainbow Coalition was formed to destabilise existing political parties.
Wike has been associated with PDP candidates in the 2027 elections in some states, including Imo and Kwara.
