ABUJA — The All Progressives Congress (APC) is facing divergent positions among its state chairmen over whether to work with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as President Bola Tinubu seeks to resolve tensions surrounding the minister’s political activities ahead of the 2027 elections.
The division centres on Wike’s continued membership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while serving in the APC-led Federal Government and his promotion of the “Rainbow Coalition”, a cross-party political platform that he says is mobilising support for President Tinubu’s re-election.
While APC chairmen in some states said they would work with Wike if he formally joined the ruling party or if the national leadership reached an agreement with him, others rejected the coalition and insisted that APC structures should support only the party’s candidates.
In Plateau State, APC Chairman Rufus Bature said the party would be willing to work with Wike if reconciliation was achieved, but insisted that the minister could not simultaneously identify with the APC and PDP.
“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,” Bature said.
The Jigawa State APC, however, adopted a more welcoming position.
The state party’s Publicity Secretary, Bashir Kundu, said the chapter appreciated Wike’s support for Tinubu and would welcome him if he decided to join the APC.
Similarly, Gombe State APC Chairman Mohammed Dantata said anyone willing to join the party would be welcomed, while Zamfara State Chairman Kabiru Moyi said he would abide by whatever decision was reached by the national secretariat.
In Bauchi State, APC Chairman Muhammad Tilde said the matter could not be decided by him alone and would require consultations with other party stakeholders.
Benue APC Chairman Benjamin Omale also said the state chapter had not received any invitation from the Presidency concerning a possible reconciliation and that the party would take a collective position if approached.
In Nasarawa, the APC welcomed Wike’s support for Tinubu but urged him to abandon the Rainbow Coalition and formally join the ruling party.
The differences extend to states where Wike’s political activities have generated particular controversy.
In Rivers State, the APC faction led by Emeka Beke said Wike should not be allowed to undermine the existing party structure. Its Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, said the faction had yet to determine whether it would work with Wike if President Tinubu brokered an agreement.
The disagreement among the state chairmen comes after the APC Governors’ Forum took a more restrictive position on the Rainbow Coalition.
The governors said they would not support or endorse any political arrangement that could undermine President Tinubu’s re-election, weaken the APC or work against candidates sponsored by the party.
The position was announced by the forum’s chairman, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, following a meeting of APC governors in Abuja.
The governors’ position is significant because Wike has maintained that supporting Tinubu for the presidency does not prevent the Rainbow Coalition from supporting candidates from other political parties in governorship and legislative elections.
That position has placed Wike at odds with some APC governors and party leaders who insist that the ruling party’s campaign structure must support APC candidates at all levels.
Wike, who remains a PDP member, has nevertheless continued to publicly mobilise support for Tinubu.
Earlier this year, he said Rivers State was setting the pace in mobilising support for the President’s 2027 re-election and described his political mobilisation as a broader coalition effort.
The minister has also made clear that he does not need to become a member of the APC or hold a position in the party’s Presidential Campaign Council to support Tinubu.
In August, Wike said he would rather concentrate on delivering support for Tinubu in Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory than take up the position of Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council.
The latest division among APC state chairmen therefore exposes a central question for the ruling party ahead of 2027; whether Wike’s support for Tinubu can be accommodated alongside his continued PDP membership and his intention to maintain an independent cross-party political structure.
For some APC chapters, the answer depends on reconciliation with the national leadership and, potentially, Wike’s formal entry into the party. Others appear prepared to cooperate with him because of his support for Tinubu, while maintaining their own party structures.
The disagreement remains unresolved as political negotiations ahead of the 2027 elections intensify.
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