Wike: Atiku Won’t Get 10% Votes in Rivers in 2027
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, has declared that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, will fail to secure up to 10 percent of votes cast in Rivers State during the 2027 presidential election, while insisting that only a candidate endorsed by his Rainbow Coalition will emerge as the state’s next governor.
Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, made the declarations on Saturday at a luncheon held in honour of candidates of the Rainbow Coalition for the 2027 general elections. The coalition is composed of members drawn from four political parties: the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Action Alliance (AA), and the Labour Party (LP).
The FCT Minister stressed that the choice of the next Rivers governor would be jointly determined by the four parties within the coalition, dismissing speculation that the federal lawmaker Ogundu Kingsley Chinda had already been anointed as the consensus candidate.
Taking direct aim at the ADC and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Wike argued that both parties lacked the structural experience required to compete in a high stakes Nigerian election, accusing them of relying on defections rather than grassroots political work.
“ADC and NDC have not run election before. They do not understand election. They only understand defection. This is the time they will see election practical. They will have the experience and they will see what is in election starting from Rivers State,” Wike said.
He further questioned the political weight of public declarations of loyalty made on television, stressing that electoral relevance is measured strictly by deliverable votes.
“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 election. It is not to go and visit him in Lagos for visits,” he stated.
Recalling the 2023 presidential outcome in Rivers, where Atiku failed to cross the 10 percent threshold, Wike said any improvement on that performance would represent a coalition failure on his part.
“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,” he said.
He added: “A man who is not ready for work, but 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.”
The minister also paid tribute to the Rivers State House of Assembly, commending the Speaker, Hon. Martin Amaewhule, and his colleagues for what he described as their defence of democracy during the political turbulence that gripped the state in recent years.
“The history of this state cannot be complete, if they don’t include you (Martin Amaewhule) and your colleagues. You stood by truth and you defended democracy. Without you, it would have been difficult for us to be here today,” Wike said.
The Rainbow Coalition’s emergence reflects a broader recalibration of Rivers State politics in the aftermath of the prolonged feud between Wike and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, a dispute that triggered constitutional crises, legislative standoffs, and significant federal intervention. With the 2027 election cycle approaching, the coalition’s ability to converge on a single governorship candidate from four competing parties is expected to become one of the most closely watched political experiments in the South South region.