The political divide over the proposed Rainbow Coalition has widened, with several state chapters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, rejecting the arrangement and calling on FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to formally join the ruling party if he intends to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
The latest pushback comes amid growing disagreement between Wike and APC governors over the political structure being assembled ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but has openly backed President Tinubu, who leads the APC administration. His continued involvement in the Rainbow Coalition has therefore raised questions within the ruling party over how support for the President should be organised across the different levels of the election.
The APC governors have maintained that support for Tinubu should also extend to candidates contesting under the party’s platform, while Wike’s position is that the coalition is primarily focused on the presidential election and does not prevent other parties from fielding candidates for governorship and legislative positions.
The disagreement intensified after Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal challenged Wike to clarify his political allegiance, saying the APC governors would not support an arrangement that separates backing for the President from the party’s other candidates.
Several APC state chapters have since echoed varying degrees of opposition to the coalition. While some have urged Wike to formally defect to the APC, others have welcomed his support for Tinubu but questioned the practicality of a cross-party arrangement ahead of the elections.
However, the position is not uniform across the party. Some APC figures have declined to take a definitive position, leaving the matter to the national leadership, while others say Wike would be welcome if he chooses to join the ruling party.
Wike, meanwhile, has defended the Rainbow Coalition, insisting that its objective is to mobilise support for Tinubu’s presidential bid and that political actors can maintain their party affiliations while supporting candidates outside their own platforms.
The disagreement has consequently opened a wider debate within the President’s political camp over party loyalty, electoral structures and the role of cross-party alliances ahead of the 2027 elections.
