Rivers Votes Are Not Your Property: Atiku Responds to Wike's Challenge in 2027

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has responded to remarks made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, regarding Atiku’s projected vote share in the 2027 general elections.

In a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President asserted that the electorate in Rivers State is capable of determining the election outcome on its own.

He emphasized that no single individual, regardless of influence or access to federal power, can dictate how an entire state will vote.

Daily Post reports that Wike had previously declared that Atiku would not obtain 10 percent of the total votes cast in Rivers State in the 2027 presidential election.

Atiku replied that the minister’s comments merely revealed the growing unease within the Tinubu camp over the emergence of a formidable opposition coalition under the ADC.

He argued that Nigerians are more concerned about the rising cost of living, worsening insecurity, and economic hardship than about political forecasts from a minister who appears to have shifted focus from governance to continuous electioneering.

He added that it is both amusing and troubling that Wike now speaks as though the voters of Rivers State are his personal property to be allocated at will.

“Rivers votes are not your property. 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.

“No individual, regardless of influence or access to federal power, can dictate how an entire state will vote,” he added.