By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has vowed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, will never be allowed to secure even 10 percent of the total votes cast in Rivers State during the 2027 general elections.
Speaking on the occasion of a luncheon in honour of candidates vying on the platform of his ” Rainbow Coalition” in Rivers State held on Saturday night, Wike, a former Governor of the State, similarly insisted that nobody operating outside the Coalition will win any elective position in Rivers State.
According to the FCT Minister, the Coalition, comprising of the APC, PDP, Labour Party, LP and Action Alliance, apart from fielding a common gubernatorial candidate, will also parade only President Bola Tinubu as its candidate in the 2027 elections.
Wike promised to re-enact the 2023 scenario in which Atiku, as the presidential candidate of the PDP, never got up to 10% of the total votes cast in Rivers State.
“Atiku Abubakar in 2023 never got 10% of votes in Rivers state. It will be very disheartening if he gets 11% of votes cast in Rivers state.
” In fact ,if he gets 10%, which he did not get in 2023, it means he has gone higher. We will make sure ADC will not have 10% of votes here in Rivers State.
” A man who is not ready to work, but ready when food is ready, is not available in the State. You must work hard.
“The ADC and NDC have not participated in elections before. So, they do not understand the nuances of an election.
“They only understand defection. But this time, they will see election practical. They will have experience and they will see what is in election starting from Rivers state.
“We have won election in this state when there was intimidation, not to talk of now that there is no intimidation”, Wike boasted.
The FCT Minister urged the Coalition to redouble their efforts to ensure a total victory come 2027.
He emphasized the need for Coalition members ,and supporters to go beyond optics and apply themselves to the task ahead if truly they are in support of the President.
“It is not enough to come on the television to profess love and support for Mr President. You have to show your commitment by how many votes you can deliver during the election. It is not enough to to go and visit the President in Lagos”, the FCT Minister warned.
While noting that a common gubernatorial candidate will be selected from among the four parties that make up the Coalition, Wike warned against the temptation of any candidate celebrating ahead of the consensus arrangement.
According to him, nobody has so far been settled, as regards the choice of the Coalition’s Governorship flag bearer for Rivers state.
The Coalition, according to him, will meet at the appropriate time to choose a candidate capable of leading the fight from the front.
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