Atiku to Wike: Rivers Votes Not Your Property, Electorate Will Decide 2027 Outcome
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has faulted comments by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, suggesting that opposition parties would be unable to secure significant votes in Rivers State during the 2027 general elections.
Atiku described the claim as undemocratic and an overestimation of individual political influence, insisting that no politician has the power to determine how the people of Rivers State will vote.
Responding to remarks made by Wike at a political luncheon in Port Harcourt, where the FCT minister reportedly stated that Atiku and the ADC would struggle to secure up to 10 per cent of votes in the state, the former vice president said Rivers voters cannot be treated as the political property of any individual.
In a statement issued on Monday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said Wike’s comments reflected growing anxiety within the ruling political establishment over the increasing strength of opposition alliances ahead of the 2027 elections.
According to Atiku, the people of Rivers State are independent-minded Nigerians who will make their electoral choices based on prevailing realities and their aspirations for a better future.
“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,” Atiku said.
The former vice president also dismissed Wike’s assertion that electoral victories in Rivers State would only favour candidates aligned with his so-called “Rainbow Coalition,” which is said to comprise elements of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party and other political groups.
Reiterating that electoral power belongs solely to the people, Atiku stressed that no individual possesses the authority to predetermine election outcomes in any state.
“No individual or political actor has the authority to predetermine how an entire state will vote. That sovereignty ultimately rests with the electorate,” he stated.
He added that Nigerians are more concerned about pressing national issues such as inflation, insecurity and economic hardship than political projections made from positions of power.
“The focus of Nigerians has shifted toward pressing national challenges such as rising inflation, insecurity and economic hardship, not political projections made from positions of power,” Atiku added.
