Rivers votes not your property, Atiku fires back at Wike

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has asserted that Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the African Democratic Congress (ADC), will not garner even 10% of the votes in Rivers State during the upcoming general elections. Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, made these remarks at a luncheon honoring candidates for the 2027 elections within the state's Rainbow Coalition.

Reacting to Wike's statement, Atiku Abubakar, through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, dismissed the prediction. Abubakar stated that the electorate in Rivers State is sufficiently intelligent to determine election outcomes independently. He emphasized that no single individual, regardless of their influence or access to federal power, can dictate the voting preferences of an entire state.

“

Rivers vote are not your property. 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.

Abubakar's camp views Wike's comments as an indication of growing anxiety within the ruling party's leadership. They suggested that Wike's pronouncements expose a "growing panic" within the "Tinubu camp" due to the formation of a formidable opposition coalition under the ADC. Abubakar found it both "amusing and disturbing" that Wike speaks as if Rivers voters are his personal property.

"Rivers votes are not your property. 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," the statement read. Abubakar added that Nigerians are more preoccupied with the escalating cost of living, worsening insecurity, and economic hardships than with the political forecasts of a minister perceived to be more focused on perpetual electioneering than on governance.

“

No individual, regardless of influence or access to federal power, can dictate how an entire state will vote.