Former presidential aide and Arise TV Morning Show anchor, Dr Reuben Abati, has criticised the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for allegedly behaving as though he has the power to dictate political choices to Nigerians.
Abati said Wike’s conduct suggested that he believed he could determine who would occupy various political offices ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He made the remarks on Friday while contributing to Ojy Okpe’s What’s Trending segment of the Morning Show.
Abati was reacting to a video circulating online in which Wike was reportedly seen allocating political positions to individuals at a rally in Rivers State.
According to Abati, Wike had declared that President Bola Tinubu would retain the presidency, while also identifying candidates for governorship, Senate, House of Representatives and state House of Assembly seats.
He said Wike subsequently called on some of his associates to step forward for the positions he had mentioned.
Abati questioned the minister’s actions, insisting that political offices should be determined by voters rather than allocated by political leaders.
Abati said: “Wike and Senator Umahi and all of them they are working for the same purpose, to make sure that President Tinubu is elected. So, they are family in that regard.
“But what I don’t understand is the way Minister Wike, for example, behaves as if he can dictate to everybody.
“There is one video in circulation. He had an event in the Rivers where he was practically sharing positions, telling at a rally, telling people the president of Nigeria, that’s the President Tinubu, will take presidency. He will take governorship. He will take all the Senate members. And he was calling the people there to step forward, saying yes, vote for this one.
“It’s then after allocating positions to the president, he now said he as Wike, it’s not good that he too doesn’t take something.
“Then he called out one person who will go to House of Reps, then some boys or some of his boys who will go to House of Assembly, and people were excited. He was allocating seats.
“No. Nobody should have that kind of power. It should be the Nigerian people, the electorate that should vote. But as for their family, yeah, they have the right to work together.”
2027: Wike behaves as if he can dictate to everybody – Abati