Wike Speaks on Atiku-Amaechi Ticket, Reveals ADC’s Fate in 2027 Race

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared the joint presidential ticket of former vice president Atiku Abubakar and ex-Rivers state governor, Rotimi Amaechi, would fail to make any meaningful impact in the 2027 presidential election.

Speaking during a media chat with selected journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Wike argued that Amaechi’s selection by Atiku would not translate into electoral strength, particularly in Rivers State and the South-South region.

According to the FCT minister, the only possible reason Atiku could have chosen Amaechi was financial rather than political value.

“Amaechi being the running mate to Atiku, I have come to know that it will indeed be difficult for Atiku to become president. I’m sure the only factor that made him choose Amaechi may be financial. If it is in terms of bringing votes to support him, it is dead on arrival,” Wike said.

The minister also questioned Amaechi’s electoral value, insisting that the former governor had failed to deliver victories in successive elections despite occupying strategic campaign positions.

“He has never won an election since after 2011 when I was the DG of the campaign. He was the DG of Buhari in 2015. Why did he not get 25 per cent? He was the DG in 2019 when he was minister. Why did he not get 25 per cent? He supported Atiku in 2023. Atiku did not get 15 per cent,” Wike stated.

Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, also maintained that occupying high public offices alone does not make a politician an electoral asset, stressing that leaders must be able to point to tangible achievements and enduring political support.

“The mere fact that you’re a former governor makes you an asset? You must be a former governor that still has a following. You must say when you were a minister, what did you bring to the table for the people of your state? What did you bring as a minister? What did your government then do that impacted the lives of Rivers State people?” he asked.

He further questioned Amaechi’s influence across the South-South geopolitical zone, saying, “Now let me tell you, in the South-South, which state will he have an impact?”

Wike also took a swipe at the African Democratic Congress (ADC), accusing the opposition coalition of hypocrisy over its internal processes.

He recalled that one of the coalition’s leading figures had previously criticised the party’s primary election process as being characterised by corruption and irregularities, only to later accept its outcome.

“Remember, this was the same man just one month ago who said the ADC primary was full of irregularity and corruption. How can we talk about removing a government that we are saying is rigging elections, and then we are rigging the election ourselves?” Wike said.

The FCT minister added, “The same man that said this thing is corrupt, that there’s irregularity, it didn’t go well, has now accepted to be part of that irregularity.”

Wike said such contradictions had exposed what he described as the opposition’s lack of credibility ahead of the 2027 general election, saying that Nigerians would not be persuaded by politicians who condemned a process only to later embrace it when it suited their political interests.