“ADC Primaries: Atiku, Mark, Just Lured Amaechi, Rubbished Him” – Wike

By Suleiman Anyalewechi 

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has claimed that the structures of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, were primed from the foundation to produce Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate.

Wike noted that had his counsel been sought, he would have advised immediate past Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, against joining the presidential fray on the platform of the ADC.

According to him, going by the arrangement in place from the beginning, no other person had the chance of picking the ADC as there was little room for transparency and due process in the party’s presidential primaries 

Speaking during his monthly media chat on Monday, June 1, 2026, the FCT Minister who was Amaechi Chief of Staff when Amaechi was Governor, disclosed that he is not at all surprised at the outcome of the ADC’s presidential primaries.

He noted that the emergence of Senator David Mark as the National Chairman of the ADC was when he saw clearly what will be the outcome of the arrangement in the ADC.

“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 a transparent and due process.

“When I saw the set up 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 set-up was Atiku’s set-up 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.

” 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 and give themselves credibility”, Wike stated .

Wike who was the immediate past Governor of Rivers state, also, alleged that Mark had aided Atiku’s victory against him during the 2022 Peoples Democratic party PDP primaries .