Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has fired back at FCT Minister Nyesom Wike after the minister described APC governors opposing his Rainbow Coalition as “politically lazy.”
Lawal, in a sharp response, challenged Wike to come to Zamfara and see the work being done by his administration before making such comments about governors.
“Well, I mean, he knows the people he’s referring to, honestly. As for me, I mean, you can’t say that in Zamfara State,” Lawal said.
“The difference is very, very clear. I invite anybody to come and see what we’re doing in Zamfara State,” he added.
Lawal spoke in an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
His response followed Wike’s recent broadside at APC governors over their opposition to the proposed Rainbow Coalition ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike had described the governors as “politically lazy” while defending his decision to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election without abandoning the Peoples Democratic Party.
“They are politically lazy. When you have your local problems, don’t use Mr President as your excuse,” Wike said on Arise TV.
The FCT minister argued that supporting Tinubu at the presidential level did not mean opposition parties should stop fielding candidates for governorship and legislative elections.
He cited the 2023 elections, arguing that voters had already demonstrated that they could support different parties in presidential and other contests held on the same day.
But Lawal took the argument further, insisting that Wike’s position creates a problem of divided political loyalty.
“Our message is very, very clear: Be on one side. You can’t be in two sides,” the Zamfara governor said.
Lawal said Wike could not openly campaign for Tinubu while simultaneously supporting candidates from other parties against APC candidates in the 2027 governorship and legislative elections.
“If you’re in APC, please come out and support APC. Not you’re supporting APC here and you’re supporting other political parties somewhere else. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not done anywhere,” he said.
Asked if the APC governors wanted Wike to join the ruling party, Lawal replied: “Exactly. What’s the essence?”
He said he would take the issue up with Tinubu, insisting that Wike should make his political position clear before the 2027 contest gathers further momentum.
“It’s either he’s in APC or he’s out. It’s simple. And I go with my brothers, the governors,” Lawal said.
The clash is the latest fallout from the battle over Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, which seeks to bring politicians from different parties together to support Tinubu’s second-term bid.
While Wike says the coalition can support Tinubu without forcing members to abandon their parties, the APC Governors’ Forum has rejected any political arrangement that could weaken the party or hurt its candidates at other levels of the election.
Wike has maintained that President Tinubu is aware of his political activities and has insisted that he never sought an alliance with the APC Governors’ Forum.
The former Rivers governor also argued that governors should not use their positions to determine who should contest elections in their states.
But Lawal’s latest response shows that the “politically lazy” jibe has added another dimension to the already heated disagreement between Wike and the APC governors.
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