Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said former Rivers State Governor and ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, made a mistake by contesting the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primary ahead of the 2027 election.
Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja on Monday, Wike said the structure of the ADC made it obvious that Amaechi would not get a fair chance in the contest.
Wike, who served as Chief of Staff under Amaechi during his tenure as Rivers State governor, said he would have advised him against joining the race if he had sought his opinion.
According to Wike, the party’s leadership arrangement was designed to favour former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from the beginning.
“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 stated.
The FCT Minister said the emergence of former Senate President David Mark as chairman of the party was enough indication that the outcome of the primary had already been determined.
“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 setup was Atiku’s setup 100 per cent.
“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 said.
Wike added that Amaechi was carried away by criticisms of the current administration and failed to carefully assess the political reality within the party before joining the race.
“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.
Wike also accused David Mark of failing to ensure fairness during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential primary in 2022, in which both he and Atiku contested.
His remarks come days after the ADC presidential primary conducted ahead of the 2027 general election.
Amaechi had rejected the outcome of the exercise, describing the results as manipulated and alleging that many party members were denied the opportunity to vote.
In a post on his X account before the official declaration of the results, the former Rivers governor argued that the process fell short of the transparency and fairness promised by the party.
Despite his protest, the ADC declared Atiku Abubakar winner of the primary and its presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
The party announced that Atiku polled 1,846,370 votes to defeat Amaechi, who secured 504,117 votes, while businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen finished third with 177,120 votes.
Meanwhile, Atiku has met separately with Amaechi and Hayatu-Deen as part of efforts to reconcile aggrieved party members and strengthen unity within the ADC ahead of the 2027 general election.
Wike: Amaechi Made Costly Mistake Joining ADC Presidential Race
