The Rivers State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has strongly rejected claims by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, that the party’s Vice Presidential candidate, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, will be defeated by 12 noon on election day.
The party reminded the Minister that the constitutional power to declare election results rests solely with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The political dispute erupted following remarks made by Wike on Saturday, September 5, 2026, during a civic reception organized in his honor by the City Boy Movement and local political groups in Omagwa, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
Addressing supporters at the venue, Wike boasted that candidates backed by his coalition would secure a landslide victory in the 2027 general elections and predicted Amaechi’s mid-day defeat at the polls.
Responding through an official press statement issued on Monday, September 7, 2026, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State ADC Chairman, Dr. Chukwudi Dimkpa, criticized the FCT Minister’s comments, describing them as political arrogance and an attempt to intimidate the electorate.
”Elections are not won by boasts, intimidation, or political strongmen announcing results in advance,” Dimkpa stated. “Rivers people will vote, the votes will be counted, and INEC, not Wike, will declare the winner. Nobody owns the people, nobody owns their votes, and certainly, nobody can declare an election result by 12 noon.”
The ADC Chairman further condemned the timing and location of Wike’s political gathering, noting that the reception took place on the same day Amaechi was laying his late mother, Dame Ezinne Amaechi, to rest in his nearby hometown of Ubima.
Dimkpa, alongside accusations levied against the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Charles Wobodo, stated that staging a political event along the burial route was “insensitive, provocative, and embarrassing.”
Dimkpa explained that the ADC deliberately refrained from responding on Saturday out of respect for the mourning family. He urged the electorate in Rivers State to remain resilient, resist political intimidation, and prepare to exercise their franchise freely to elect credible leadership in 2027.
