The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, made a mistake contesting the 2027 presidential primary on the African Democratic Congress (ADC) platform.
Wike was quoted to have said that he would have advised Amaechi against contesting the ADC presidential ticket had the former governor of Rivers State consulted him.
He said this in Abuja on Monday during his monthly media chat.
Wike, who was Chief of Staff under Amaechi when he was Rivers State governor, said the structure of the ADC indicated 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 called 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.
The appearance of former Senate President David Mark as ADC chairman indicated where the primary would go, he said.
I giggled when I saw the setup in ADC and saw David Mark there. Once you have worked with these people, you know who is who and what they are 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 that kind of structure would lead to free and fair elections?” he asked.
I think my brother made a mistake. He was in a hurry. People shouting that this government is not doing well carried him away. ‘They used that to lure people in, to give themselves credibility,’ he said.
