Former presidential spokesperson and Arise Television Morning Show anchor, Dr Reuben Abati, has criticised the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his alleged attempt to determine political positions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Abati expressed his concerns on Friday during the What’s Trending segment of Arise Television’s Morning Show, hosted by Ojy Okpe.
His comments followed the circulation of a video purportedly showing Wike announcing political positions for various individuals at a rally in Rivers State.
According to Abati, the minister appeared to be assigning elective offices to political associates while declaring support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
He said the video showed Wike indicating who should occupy the presidency, governorship, Senate seats, House of Representatives positions and seats in the state House of Assembly.
Abati questioned the propriety of such conduct, arguing that political offices in a democracy should be determined by voters rather than allocated by influential political figures.
“Wike and Senator Umahi and all of them, they are working for the same purpose, to make sure that President Tinubu is elected. So, they are family in that regard,” Abati said.
“But what I don’t understand is the way Minister Wike, for example, behaves as if he can dictate to everybody.”
The broadcaster said the video appeared to show Wike identifying preferred candidates for different offices and inviting them forward as he announced the positions they were expected to contest.
Abati described the scene as an apparent distribution of political seats, raising questions about the role of political influence in the selection of candidates and the democratic process.
“There is one video in circulation. He had an event in Rivers where he was practically sharing positions, telling at a rally, telling people the president of Nigeria, that’s President Tinubu, will take presidency. He will take governorship. He will take all the Senate members,” Abati said.
He added that, according to his interpretation of the footage, Wike subsequently identified individuals for legislative positions and invited them to step forward.
“It’s then after allocating positions to the president, he now said he as Wike, it’s not good that he too doesn’t take something. Then he called out one person who will go to House of Reps, then some boys or some of his boys who will go to House of Assembly, and people were excited. He was allocating seats,” Abati stated.
The Arise TV anchor maintained that no individual should exercise such authority over the electorate, stressing that the power to elect political officeholders belongs to Nigerians.
He distinguished between political alliances, which he said were legitimate, and the alleged allocation of elective positions, which he argued should be left to the democratic process.
“No. Nobody should have that kind of power. It should be the Nigerian people, the electorate that should vote. But as for their family, yeah, they have the right to work together,” Abati added.
Wike has remained a prominent figure in Rivers State politics and a supporter of Tinubu’s administration. His political activities and relationships with various political actors have continued to attract public attention ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Abati’s remarks highlight the broader debate over the influence of powerful politicians in candidate selection, party politics and the electoral process.
Under Nigeria’s democratic system, elective offices are filled through elections conducted in accordance with the law, while political parties determine their candidates through prescribed nomination procedures. Ultimately, voters decide who occupies elective positions at the polls.
The video referenced by Abati has generated discussion about political endorsements and the extent to which influential figures should shape electoral contests. However, the circumstances surrounding the footage and the full context of Wike’s remarks would need to be considered in assessing the claims made about the event.
