The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has vowed that the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, will not secure up to 10 per cent of votes in Rivers State in the 2027 presidential election.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Wike also said no governorship candidate would win the 2027 election in the state without the backing of his Rainbow Coalition.
The former Rivers State governor spoke on Saturday at a luncheon held in honour of candidates of the Rainbow Coalition for the 2027 general elections in the state.
The coalition comprises members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Alliance (AA) and Labour Party (LP).
Wike said the ADC and the National Democratic Congress had not participated in any election before, claiming they only understood defections.
“ADC and NDC have not run an election before. They do not understand the election. They only understand defection. This is the time they will see the election practical. They will have the experience, and they will see what is in the election starting from Rivers State,” he said.
He said supporting President Bola Tinubu must go beyond media appearances and visits.
“It is not enough to come on TV to say President, we love you. But to show your commitment by how many votes you can deliver to win the election. It is not to go and visit him in Lagos for visits,” he added.
Wike said Atiku did not get 10 per cent of the votes in Rivers State in the 2023 election and should not expect to do better in 2027.
He further stated, “Atiku Abubakar in 2023 never got 10% in Rivers State. It will be very disheartening that he will get 11 per cent in Rivers State in the next election.
“If he gets 10% which he did not get in 2023, it means he has gone higher. We will make sure ADC will not have 10% here. A man who is not ready for work, but is ready when food is ready, is not available in the state. You must work hard.
“We have won election in this state when there was intimidation, come to talk of now that there is no intimidation.”
Wike said the Rainbow Coalition would decide the next governor of Rivers State from among the candidates presented by the four parties in the alliance.
He, however, said it had not been concluded that Ogundu Kingsley Chinda had been anointed automatically as the next governor.
The FCT minister also commended members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, saying they stood against lawlessness and protected democracy in the state.
He specifically praised the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, and other lawmakers.
“The History of this state cannot be complete, if they don’t include you and your colleagues. You stood by the truth, and you defended democracy. Without you, it would have been difficult for us to be here today,” Wike said.