Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Rivers State chapter of the African Democratic Congress has issued a blistering response to Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, declaring that elections are not won through boasts, intimidation, or premature declarations of victory, and that the people of Rivers State, not political strongmen, will decide the outcome of the 2027 elections. The party's reaction came after Wike, during a civic reception organised in his honour by the City Boy Movement at Omagwa on Saturday, September 5, 2026, reportedly declared that Rotimi Amaechi, the ADC vice-presidential candidate, would be defeated by 12 noon on election day.
In a statement issued on Monday, September 7, 2026, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State ADC Chairman, Dr Chukwudi Dimkpa, dismissed Wike's claim as a boast that does not win elections and a symptom of a misplaced belief that political power and influence can determine the outcome of an election before voters have cast their ballots. "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," Dimkpa declared.
Dimkpa also condemned the timing and location of Wike's reception, describing it as "political rascality taken too far" because it coincided with the burial of Amaechi's mother, Dame Ezinne Amaechi, in Ubima, Rivers State. "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, Charles Wobodo, 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. It was insensitive, provocative and embarrassing," Dimkpa said.
The ADC chairman said there is always a time for politics and a time for humanity, arguing that "if Wike could not suspend his political obsession with Amaechi even for the few hours in which the man was laying his mother to rest, then the Rivers people should ask themselves who really is consumed by this rivalry." He explained that the ADC deliberately chose not to respond to Wike's comments on Saturday because its priority was to honour Amaechi's late mother. "We refused to dignify the provocation with a response that day because our attention was on giving Mama a befitting burial. But 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," Dimkpa said.
Dimkpa called on Rivers voters not to be intimidated by anybody but to be prepared to make the right choice in 2027 by electing a credible leader that would add value to their lives. The ADC chairman also rejected the suggestion that the political contest in Rivers had already been settled, describing such confidence as misplaced. The party's position comes amid renewed political exchanges between Wike and the opposition ADC over the influence of Amaechi ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike, who has repeatedly dismissed Amaechi's ability to influence the outcome of elections in Rivers, told his supporters at the reception that all candidates selected by the Rainbow Coalition would emerge victorious in next year's elections. He had also said that Rivers State would support President Bola Tinubu ahead of Amaechi and the ADC in the 2027 presidential election. However, the ADC argued that previous election results could not be used to predetermine the outcome of another election, stressing that political circumstances and voter preferences could change.
The Rivers ADC spokesman, Chizzy Enyi, also accused Wike of viewing every issue through the lens of politics, adding that Amaechi had resolved not to always respond to Wike. "To Nyesom, everything is politics. Honestly, there's no value Wike has brought or is bringing to Rivers State," Enyi said. The escalating exchanges have placed Rivers State at the centre of the emerging battle for political influence ahead of the 2027 polls. With the elections still months away, the ADC has made it clear that the people of Rivers State, not any political strongman, will decide who emerges victorious. As Dimkpa put it, "Nobody owns the people, nobody owns their votes, and certainly, nobody can declare an election result by 12 noon."
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