■ Wike predicts Tinubu will sweep Rivers
■ Commentators question remarks as debate over 2027 intensifies
By PHC Telegraph
The declaration by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has already secured the support of Rivers State ahead of the 2027 general election has triggered intense political debate, with supporters hailing his confidence and critics arguing that only the electorate can decide the outcome at the polls.
President Tinubu is expected to seek a second four-year term in office, and political activities ahead of the election are gradually gathering momentum across the country.
Speaking during his regular live media chat in Abuja, Wike declared that Rivers had made its choice.
” Our choice is President Tinubu,” the former Rivers State governor said, adding that presidential candidates from other political parties should seek support elsewhere because, in his view, there was no political space left for them in the state.
The remarks immediately sparked widespread reactions across Rivers State and beyond, with political commentators, television analysts and ordinary residents offering sharply contrasting interpretations of the statement.
Austin, a youth in Port Harcourt, questioned the implication of the declaration.
“If the result is already known, then what is the need to ask people to vote? Wike has simply told Nigerians that the election in Rivers has already been decided,” he said.
At Mile III Market, a trader who spoke in Pidgin English also expressed concern.
“Wike don start to tell everybody say road no dey for other people. Small time dem go say make opposition no campaign. Like play, like play, dem go gather write result,” he remarked.
The comments also featured prominently during discussions on national television.
On Arise Television’s The Morning Show, veteran journalist Dr. Reuben Abati criticised Wike’s declaration, insisting that no politician has the constitutional authority to pronounce the outcome of an election before votes are cast.
“He has no right,” Abati said, stressing that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) remains the only institution empowered by law to declare election results.
His co-anchor, Rufai Oseni, offered a different perspective, arguing that Wike’s confidence reflected his reading of the political situation in Rivers State. He also questioned why many residents who now criticise Wike remained largely silent during the political crisis that led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The debate comes against the backdrop of sharply differing assessments of President Tinubu’s administration.
Supporters argue that the President has demonstrated courage by implementing difficult economic reforms that previous administrations avoided.
An economist who spoke to the Port Harcourt Telegraph cited the removal of fuel subsidy as one such example.
“It took political courage to remove the subsidy. The policy has significantly increased allocations to states and given them greater financial capacity to execute development projects,” he said.
Critics, however, contend that while some macro-economic indicators may have improved, many Nigerians continue to struggle with rising living costs, inflation and declining purchasing power.
Political activist Isaac Fayose, a supporter of Peter Obi, dismissed Wike’s prediction, insisting that his preferred candidate would perform strongly in Rivers State whenever elections are eventually held.
Within Rivers itself, many residents appear content to wait until election day before passing judgment.
“Let him talk,” a female politician said. “We shall see whether one man owns Rivers State or whether Rivers people will ultimately decide who governs them.”
The discussion has also revived memories of the 2023 elections.
Some political observers recalled that opposition parties complained of difficulties in accessing public venues for campaigns during the last electoral cycle, while others pointed to political tensions that led then presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to cancel a planned campaign visit to Rivers State.
Supporters of Peter Obi have also continued to maintain that he enjoyed widespread support in Rivers during the 2023 presidential election, although the official results declared by INEC returned President Tinubu as the winner of the national contest. Those claims have remained the subject of political debate.
With Wike now openly declaring Rivers to be Tinubu territory, fresh questions are emerging over the political atmosphere that will shape the build-up to the 2027 elections.
Will all political parties enjoy equal opportunities to campaign across the state? Will Rivers voters endorse Wike’s confidence at the ballot box, or will they chart a different political course?
Those questions remain unanswered.
For now, Wike’s declaration has achieved one objective: it has thrust Rivers State back into the centre of Nigeria’s political conversation and intensified what promises to be one of the country’s most closely watched electoral battles.
Whether his prediction becomes political prophecy or political overstatement will ultimately be decided not in television studios or media chats, but by Rivers voters when they cast their ballots.
