2027: Atiku, Amaechi can’t get 25% in Rivers — Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential ticket of Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi cannot secure the constitutionally required 25 per cent of votes in Rivers State in the 2027 election.

Wike made the claim on Monday while addressing stakeholders from the Rumueme and Apara kingdoms in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The former Rivers governor also described the Atiku-Amaechi ticket as a “joint ticket of corruption,” accusing both opposition figures of carrying questionable records from their time in public office.

He particularly criticised Atiku over corruption allegations previously made against him by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who served as Atiku’s principal when he was vice-president.

“When I saw Atiku on television yesterday, asking Nigerians to take any money given to them by people from the party in power, that it will be stolen money, I said haa, Atiku is now an apostle of anti-corruption?” Wike said.

He added, “The same Atiku that his boss described as corrupt and that one of his major regrets is making him his Vice President is talking.”

Wike also questioned Amaechi’s ability to deliver Rivers votes for the ADC ticket, citing his performance during previous presidential elections.

In August, Wike similarly argued that Amaechi was not an electoral asset to Atiku, noting that he failed to deliver 25 per cent of Rivers votes for Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and 2019 while serving as Buhari’s campaign director-general.

Wike urged Rivers residents to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, saying the administration had brought development to the state and appointed several Rivers indigenes to federal positions.

“Each day I sleep, I am thinking about the president’s reelection. When I am eating, I think about the president’s reelection. Everything I am doing now is about the president’s reelection,” he said.

He urged the people of Rivers State to support candidates based on what he described as tangible development and representation rather than political sentiments.

Wike also criticised other opposition politicians, including Peter Obi, whom he described as “unelectable.”

He urged political stakeholders in Rivers State to avoid internal conflicts and focus on maintaining peace in their communities.