The Rivers State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has hit back at Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his boast that the party’s 2027 vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, would be defeated by noon on election day.

While describing Wike’s claim as political grandstanding, the ADC insisted that elections are not won through boasts, intimidation or the declaration of results before voters have cast their ballots.

The party’s state chairman, Dr Chukwudi Dimkpa, stated this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday while reacting to comments made by Wike at a civic reception organised in his honour by the City Boy Movement in Omagwa, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, on Saturday.

Dimkpa said Wike’s claim that he would defeat Amaechi by 12 noon was more revealing of the minister’s political mindset than the strength of his electoral support.

“Elections are not won by boasts, intimidation or political strongmen announcing results in advance. Rivers people will vote, the votes will be counted, and INEC, not Wike, will declare the winner,” he said.

The ADC chairman also condemned the timing and conduct of the reception, alleging that the event was held along the route to Ubima as people travelled to attend the burial of Amaechi’s mother, Dame Ezinne Amaechi.

According to him, Wike and the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Charles Wobodo, turned what should have been a solemn period into an opportunity for political attacks against Amaechi.

Dimkpa described the development as “political rascality taken too far,” accusing Wike of insensitivity and provocative conduct.

“On a day when Rotimi Amaechi was burying his mother and people from across Nigeria were travelling to Ubima to commiserate with the family, Wike and the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area chose that same route and occasion for a political reception, obstructing part of the road, creating unnecessary traffic and then turning the event into a platform for attacking and taunting a man who was mourning his mother,” he said.

The ADC leader said there should be a distinction between political contest and basic humanity, arguing that Wike’s inability to suspend his rivalry with Amaechi even during the former governor’s bereavement raised questions about the nature of their political conflict.

He said the party deliberately refrained from responding to Wike’s comments on Saturday because its priority was ensuring that Amaechi’s mother received a befitting burial.

“We refused to dignify the provocation with a response that day because our attention was on giving Mama, Dame Ezinne Amaechi, a befitting burial,” Dimkpa said.

He warned that Rivers State could not be treated as the personal political territory of any individual, stressing that the electorate would ultimately determine the outcome of the 2027 elections.

“Wike should understand that Rivers State belongs to all of us. Nobody owns the people, nobody owns their votes, and certainly, nobody can declare an election result by 12 noon,” he added.

The ADC chairman subsequently urged Rivers voters not to succumb to intimidation or political pressure ahead of the 2027 elections.

He called on the electorate to scrutinise the records and credibility of political candidates before making their choice, saying the state deserved a leader capable of improving the lives of its people.

 Politics Nigeria recalls that Wike had earlier used the Omagwa reception to attack Amaechi, questioning his record as Minister of Transportation between 2015 and 2022.

Amaechi, who served as governor of Rivers State before his appointment to the federal cabinet under former President Muhammadu Buhari, resigned as minister in 2022 to contest the APC presidential primary, which was eventually won by President Bola Tinubu.

Wike accused Amaechi of failing to adequately address the challenges facing Rivers State during his years as a federal minister.

He particularly questioned Amaechi’s role in the establishment of the Federal University of Transportation in Daura, Katsina State, suggesting that the former minister supported the project because of his presidential ambition.

“Now that he wants to run for vice-president, we must ask: what happened during all the years he was minister of transportation?” Wike asked.

“Did he relate with us? Did he think about our problems? Did he bring anything here?”

Wike also invoked Amaechi’s previous argument that political “brotherhood” should be measured by a person’s willingness to identify with the people and support them during difficult times. 

The FCT minister argued that by that standard, Amaechi could not be considered a brother to Rivers people because, according to him, the former governor neglected the state while serving as a minister.

Wike, however, said Tinubu had earned the description of a “brother” to Rivers’ people by identifying with the state’s challenges and supporting the state.