The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed the chances of former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi in the 2027 presidential election, describing his ambition as “dead on arrival.”
Amaechi, who was a runner-up in the 2022 All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary won by Bola Tinubu, left the APC in 2025 to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC). He is currently seeking the ADC’s presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 polls.
However, Wike—who also served as governor of Rivers State after Amaechi—insisted that Amaechi will neither secure the ADC ticket nor win the support of Nigerians. According to him, Amaechi’s past record makes him unfit to lead.
“He knows he won’t get the ticket. I read that he claimed to understand the weaknesses of the president and therefore knows how to defeat him. But he also knew those weaknesses in 2022 when the president still defeated him convincingly at the primary,” Wike said.
The FCT Minister further argued that Nigerians would not entrust Amaechi with such responsibility, stressing that the former Rivers governor lacked respect for the judiciary and the rule of law during his time in office.
Amaechi governed Rivers State from May 2007 to May 2015, before handing over to Wike. The political rivalry between the two men has remained intense ever since.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the only opposition figure in President Tinubu’s cabinet, has himself faced criticism for allegedly working against his party and fueling internal divisions.
