The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has criticised the decision of former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, to contest the 2027 presidential primary under the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Speaking during his monthly media chat in Abuja on Monday, Wike said Amaechi entered a political structure that was already designed to favour former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

According to Wike, if Amaechi had consulted him before joining the race, he would have advised him against participating in the ADC primary contest.

“Amaechi is my brother. I served as Chief of Staff in his government. When I saw that he was running with them, I knew what would happen,” Wike said.

He added, “If he had called me, I would have said, ‘Don’t go there.’ It was very clear he would not get transparency or due process.”

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Wike argued that the internal arrangement within the ADC already pointed toward a predetermined outcome in favour of Atiku Abubakar.

The FCT minister specifically referenced the emergence of former Senate President David Mark as ADC chairman, claiming it signalled that the party’s leadership structure had been carefully aligned to support Atiku’s ambition.

“When I saw the setup in ADC and saw David Mark there, I laughed,” Wike stated.

“When you have worked with these people, you know who is who and what they are capable of doing. That set-up was Atiku’s set-up 100 per cent,” he added.

Wike maintained that experienced politicians should be able to identify political traps before entering contests.

“You cannot set a trap for me. We know ourselves as politicians. Who told you that kind of structure would give you transparency? Who told you that kind of structure would give you free and fair elections?” he queried.

The former Rivers governor further claimed that Amaechi was influenced by growing criticism of the current administration and was persuaded into joining forces with opposition figures.

According to him, some politicians used public dissatisfaction with the government to attract credible political figures into the ADC movement.

“I think my brother made a mistake. He was too much in a hurry,” Wike said.

“He was carried away by people shouting that this government is not doing well. They used that to lure people in and give themselves credibility,” he added.

The comments come amid increasing political realignments ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with opposition parties attempting to build coalitions capable of challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Amaechi had contested the ADC presidential primary alongside Atiku Abubakar and businessman Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, but the process later generated controversy after allegations of irregularities and claims that the structure favoured Atiku.