Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has sharply rebuked FCT Minister Nyesom Wike after the latter publicly declared that Atiku and his party would fail to secure even ten percent of the votes in Rivers State in the 2027 general elections, insisting that the state’s electorate cannot be controlled by any single individual.
The clash marks the latest episode in Nigeria’s increasingly heated pre-election political maneuvering, as key political figures begin staking out positions ahead of the 2027 polls.
Wike made his remarks at a luncheon held in honour of candidates of the Rainbow Coalition for the 2027 general elections in Rivers State. The coalition comprises members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Action Alliance (AA), and Labour Party (LP).
The former Rivers State governor asserted that no governorship candidate would win the 2027 election in the state without the backing of his Rainbow Coalition.
Wike also took aim at Atiku’s political record in the state. “Atiku Abubakar in 2023 never got 10% in Rivers State. It will be very disheartening that he will get 11 percent 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,” Wike said.
Wike also dismissed Atiku’s party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), alongside the National Democratic Congress (NDC), claiming neither had real electoral experience. “ADC and NDC have not run an election before. They do not understand election. They only understand defection,” he said.
Reacting in a statement on Monday, released by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the electorate in Rivers State is intelligent enough to decide the outcome of elections in the state.
“The people of Rivers State are not political slaves. They are intelligent, independent-minded Nigerians who will make their choices based on the realities confronting them and the future they desire for their children. No individual, regardless of influence or access to federal power, can dictate how an entire state will vote,” Shaibu said.
The Atiku camp also said that Wike’s comments only exposed growing panic within the Tinubu administration over the emergence of a formidable opposition coalition under the ADC.
Shaibu further challenged Wike to address more pressing national concerns, asking the minister to explain to Nigerians “why families can no longer afford basic necessities, why businesses are shutting down, and why citizens now budget for ransom payments in the same way they once budgeted for school fees.”
“The real referendum in 2027 will not be about Atiku Abubakar; it will be about the catastrophic consequences of the Tinubu administration’s policies and those who have chosen to serve as its chief defenders,” the statement added.
Shaibu expressed confidence that when the election comes, Nigerians including Rivers residents will vote based on performance, competence, and their hopes for a better future, and that political intimidation and grandstanding would not influence the will of the people.
The exchange underscores the deepening rivalry between Wike and opposition figures as the race for 2027 begins to take shape, with Rivers State once again emerging as a critical battleground in Nigeria’s political calculus.
