The minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has stated that the African Democratic Congress’ leadership structure made it plain from the start that former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi would not have a fair chance of winning the party’s 2027 presidential ticket.
During his monthly media chat in Abuja on Monday, Wike stated that he knew Amaechi’s campaign for the ADC presidential nomination was doomed from the time he saw the party’s leadership makeup, calling the arrangement as “Atiku’s set-up 100 percent.”
According to Channels TV, if Amaechi had sought his counsel, the FCT minister would have warned him not to run in the contest.
“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 State governor argued that the emergence of former Senate President David Mark as chairman of the ADC signaled that the process would favor former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
“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.
“You cannot set a trap for me. We know ourselves as politicians do. 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 said.
Wike claimed Amaechi misjudged the political context and let mounting criticism of the Tinubu administration influence his choice to enter the campaign.
“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,” he added.
The minister also raised concerns about the Peoples Democratic Party’s 2022 presidential primary, accusing David Mark of failing to maintain a level playing field in the contest that produced Atiku as the party’s presidential candidate.
Wike’s claims comes days after Amaechi rejected the results of the ADC presidential primary, calling it “concocted” and claiming that the process fell short of the party’s promises of transparency and impartiality.
In a post on his X account before the official results were announced, Amaechi claimed that many party members were barred from voting, stating that such tactics contradicted the ADC’s founding values.
Despite the claims, the party declared Atiku the primary winner and presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
According to the ADC, Atiku received 1,846,370 votes, defeating Amaechi, who received 504,117 votes.
Businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen placed in third with 177,120 votes.
Meanwhile, Atiku has undertaken separate sessions with Amaechi and Hayatu Deen in an effort to reconcile dissatisfied members and enhance party unity ahead of the 2027 election.
