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The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has urged Rivers State voters to reject former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi in the 2027 presidential election.
He described the political gamblers chasing presidential ambitions without a clear vision for Nigeria.
Wike spoke at a rainbow coalition town hall meeting in Ayama, Abua/Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State, where he canvassed support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.
Addressing traditional rulers, party members and community representatives, the minister warned residents against entrusting their political future to politicians he accused of repeatedly seeking the presidency without offering concrete solutions to the country’s problems.
“Don’t trust your destiny to political gamblers. Don’t trust your destiny to ‘kalokalo’ people,” he said.
Wike argued that some politicians contest presidential elections every four years in the hope of recovering previous political investments rather than pursuing a clearly defined national development agenda.
He singled out Atiku and Amaechi, whom he linked to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and Obi, whom he identified as the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), describing them as political gamblers.
“These people are political gamblers and you cannot give your destiny to ‘kalokalo’ people; you cannot hand over your destiny to political gamblers.
“Give a destiny to somebody who we know, who has tried all this, and he has done it,” Wike said.
The minister argued that repeated attempts to secure political office should be driven by a clear national vision rather than personal ambition or the desire to recover political investments.
Wike also challenged Amaechi to account for his contributions to Abua/Odual, urging residents to judge political leaders by the projects they had completed rather than their campaign promises.
He defended his own record as Rivers State governor, asking residents to consider projects executed during his administration when deciding whom to support in the 2027 elections.
The minister also praised Tinubu’s administration, crediting it with stabilising key sectors of the economy and restoring industrial harmony in tertiary institutions, although he did not provide specific examples during the remarks reported.
Wike urged residents to support Tinubu’s re-election bid and candidates backed by the Rainbow Coalition in the 2027 general elections.
He listed Kingsley Chinda for governor, Felix Obua for the Rivers West Senatorial District and Solomon Boss for the Abua/Odual-Ahoada East Federal Constituency, alongside Tinubu for president. He said the candidates were running under the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He also called on residents to support John Iderima, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the Abua/Odual State Constituency.
Speaking at the meeting, Chinda praised Wike for visiting communities to mobilise support for Tinubu and other candidates endorsed by the Rainbow Coalition.
“This is a system that we will sustain when we come into government. We have learnt from him, and we will continue.
“It will be a bottom-up approach; the people will decide and determine their fate in government,” Chinda said.
Earlier, Professor Continue Eketu, speaking on behalf of Abua/Odual communities, described Wike as his political idol and listed projects executed in the local government area during Wike’s tenure as governor.
Eketu praised the minister’s leadership and said the communities had resolved to support candidates endorsed by the Rainbow Coalition in the 2027 elections.
“We have decided and agreed to vote massively for all candidates of the Rainbow Coalition,” he said.
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