The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday, declared that what Nigerians saw during the 2023 presidential election will be totally different from what they would see in 2027.
Wike made the remark while dismissing claims that the African Democratic Congress, ADC, presidential running mate, Rotimi Amaechi, is giving President Bola Tinubu sleepless nights ahead of the 2027 elections.
The minister spoke during his monthly media chat in Abuja.
Wike said: “I watched Amaechi; he had a town hall meeting in Cross River and I counted the number; they were not up to 200 people.
“He told them that this election has been won, he told them ‘can I tell you how this election will be handled?’ Atiku is from North, Tinubu is from South, Obi is from South, Donald Duke is from South and Atiku has won the election.
“That is what he was telling stakeholders in a town hall meeting in Cross River State. How can a vice presidential candidate go to a town hall meeting and he is telling his supporters that do you know that this election has been won?
“I have always told people that what you saw in 2023 will be totally different from what you will see in 2027. Mind you, in the South-East, it was difficult for most of the governors to campaign but now look at the campaign going on in the South-East.
“You think that what happened in 2023 will be the same thing in 2027, certainly not.”
Dismissing Amaechi’s political relevance, he recalled how the late former President Muhammadu Buhari could not get 25 percent with him as campaign director general.
He added: “Amaechi won his last election in 2011 and I was the DG of his campaign, when I left him and became a minister, he was governor. See the margin, I had one million votes and he had 100,000 votes in 2015, in 2019 he was the DG of Buhari and he could not get 25 percent of the votes for his candidate.
“In 2019 when they came with federal might to Rivers, the military, even the American marine came, they brought everything but he couldn’t get 25 percent as he is the super Minister of Transportation.
“In 2023, he was still a minister, supported Atiku and he didn’t get 15 percent. What has Amaechi done for the people of the state to now change their mind to support him?
“He was Minister of Transportation
and not one port is in the South-South, so what has he attracted to the South-South and Rivers State to make them support him.”
‘2027 will be different from 2023’ – Wike says Amaechi not giving Tinubu sleepless nights