The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has stated that the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, erred in contesting the 2027 presidential primary on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Wike was quoted to have said that he would have advised Amaechi not to contest the ADC presidential ticket if the former governor of Rivers State had consulted him.
He said this in Abuja on Monday, during his monthly media chat.
Wike was Chief of Staff to Amaechi when he was governor of Rivers State. He said the ADC was structured in a way that the primary would not be transparent.
“I regard Amaechi as my brother. I was chief of staff in his government. I knew what would happen when I saw him running with them. If he’d rung me I’d have said, ‘Don’t go there. “It was pretty clear he wasn’t going to get transparency or due process,” Wike said.
The minister of the FCT alleged that the arrangement of the party was meant to favour the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.
He said the appearance of former Senate President David Mark as ADC chairman indicated where the primary would go.
I laughed when I saw the setup in ADC and saw David Mark there. When you’ve worked with these people, you know who’s who and what they’re capable of. “That was Atiku’s set-up 100 per cent,” he said.
Wike said Amaechi should have known better before joining the race.
“You cannot lay a trap for me. We’re politicians. Who said that kind of structure would give you transparency. “Who told you a structure like that would produce free and fair elections?” he asked.
I think my brother made a mistake. He was too much in a rush. He was taken away by people shouting that this government is not doing well. “They used that to bring people in, to give them credibility,” he said.
