The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised the decision of former Minister of Transportation and ex-Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, to contest the 2027 presidential primary on the platform of the African Democratic Congress, describing it as a political miscalculation.
Speaking during his monthly media briefing in Abuja on Monday, Wike said he foresaw the outcome of the ADC primary and would have advised Amaechi against participating if he had sought his opinion.
“Amaechi is my brother. I served as Chief of Staff in his government. When I saw that he was running with them, I knew what would happen. If he had called me, I would have said, ‘Don’t go there.’ It was very clear he would not get transparency or due process,” Wike said.
The former Rivers governor argued that the composition of the ADC leadership before the primary suggested that the process would favour former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
According to him, the emergence of former Senate President, David Mark in the party’s leadership structure signalled what he described as a predetermined outcome.
“When I saw the setup in ADC and saw David Mark there, I laughed. When you have worked with these people, you know who is who and what they are capable of doing. That set-up was Atiku’s set-up 100 per cent,” he said.
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Wike maintained that experienced politicians should have recognised what he considered obvious warning signs before entering the contest.
“You cannot set a trap for me. We know ourselves as politicians. Who told you that kind of structure would give you transparency? Who told you that kind of structure would give you free and fair elections?”
He further suggested that Amaechi and others were persuaded to join the coalition by growing criticism of the current administration.
“I think my brother made a mistake. He was too much in a hurry. He was carried away by people shouting that this government is not doing well. They used that to lure people in and give themselves credibility,” Wike added.
The minister also accused David Mark of failing to ensure a level playing field during the 2022 presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party, where both Wike and Atiku contested.
His remarks come days after the ADC presidential primary in which Atiku emerged as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election, defeating Amaechi and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen.
Amaechi had rejected the outcome of the exercise, describing the results as “concocted” and alleging that many party members were denied the opportunity to vote.
Despite the objections, the ADC declared Atiku winner of the primary. Since then, Atiku has held separate meetings with Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen as part of efforts to reconcile aggrieved aspirants and strengthen party unity ahead of the 2027 general election.
