Wike and Abe tell Amaechi to quit Atiku ticket, back Tinubu for 2027

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike and Senator Magnus Abe have called on former Rivers State governor Rotimi Amaechi to step down as the vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), arguing that the presidency should remain in the South.

The two spoke in Port Harcourt on Tuesday at the unveiling of candidates of the Rivers State Rainbow Coalition, a group Wike leads. The coalition used the event to declare support for President Bola Tinubu's re-election in 2027.

According to The Nation, Abe, who chairs the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), said Amaechi had once argued that power should rotate between the North and the South. He recalled that as governor, Amaechi opposed former President Goodluck Jonathan's second-term bid on that principle.

"It is the turn of the South, and Rivers State will stand by the agreement between the North and the South," Abe said, calling on Amaechi to resign "immediately" from the ticket with former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

Abe also urged Atiku to respect the rotation arrangement and wait for the North's turn. He said the coalition was not merely sympathetic to Tinubu: "We are in Tinubu. We are by Tinubu. We are for Tinubu."

Wike takes the appeal to PDP members nationwide

Wike went further, asking Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members across the country to vote for Tinubu regardless of party lines. He named Rivers, Kwara, Benue, Ondo and Ogun states in the appeal.

"Every PDP member in Rivers State, you will support Bola Ahmed Tinubu," he said, repeating the call for the other states.

The minister also questioned Atiku's political consistency and criticised Amaechi's record as governor between 2007 and 2015, including promises on malaria prevention. He raised allegations about how funds were managed during that tenure, referring to a judicial panel of inquiry and later court proceedings. Those allegations were not established at the event.

Wike said the Rainbow Coalition was working to bring politicians from different parties together behind Tinubu and the alliance's candidates in Rivers State. He also urged stakeholders to avoid anything that could reignite tension in the state.

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara attended the event, along with Abe and other leaders and candidates from parties in the coalition.

The sources differ on one detail: Independent and Leadership reported that the speakers said the South should hold the presidency, with Leadership adding "until 2031". The Nation reported Abe saying the 2027 presidency should stay in the South. The Nation also identified the party as the ADC and the poll as the January 16 election; the other reports did not name the party.

What happens next

The 2027 general election is still more than a year away, and no official timetable has been set in these reports. For now, the statements are political positioning: Wike's coalition is trying to pull PDP members toward Tinubu, while pressure builds on Amaechi and Atiku over the North-South rotation argument.