NEWS
2027: Wike Must Be Careful, ADC VP Candidate From Rivers Could Change Voting Pattern — Sumner Sambo Warns FCT Minister, Nysome Wike
The political calculations ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections may be more complicated than they appear, particularly in Rivers State, where emerging alliances and opposition figures could significantly reshape the contest.
Director of Politics at Arise News, Sumner Sambo, has cautioned the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to exercise greater caution in his political calculations ahead of the elections.
Sambo, who made the remarks while speaking on Arise Television’s The Morning Show on Monday, said the emergence of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate from Rivers State could have a major impact on the state’s voting pattern.
According to him, Wike should not underestimate the strength of opposition politicians or the growing political challenge facing the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), particularly as voters in Rivers State may not necessarily follow the political direction anticipated by established power blocs.
“I think Nyesom Wike should also be very cautious in his statement. For the vice presidential candidate of the ADC to come from Rivers State, it means that in the state, the vote will not go exactly the way he is thinking.
“And don’t forget, look at the crowd that actually came out to receive Peter Obi and Kwankwaso over there.
“Yes, you can’t ignore these people except if these elections are not free and fair. That’s when you underrate people, especially in Port Harcourt, Rivers State,” Sambo said.
Sambo further described Rivers as one of Nigeria’s most cosmopolitan states, stressing that its electorate consists of diverse political interests that cannot easily be controlled or directed by individual political leaders.
He argued that the growing visibility of opposition figures and political movements in the state means that established politicians must carefully assess the mood of the electorate rather than assume that voters will automatically follow their preferred candidates.
“Rivers is one of the cosmopolitan states that we have in Nigeria. You cannot just put things in the mouth of people and think that it will be easier for you to ride roughshod,” he said.
His comments come against the backdrop of renewed political exchanges between Wike and former Minister of Transportation and former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
The latest development followed comments made by Wike on Saturday during a civic reception organised in his honour at Omagwa in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The FCT minister accused Amaechi of neglecting Rivers State during his tenure as Minister of Transportation under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Amaechi, who governed Rivers State before serving as Transportation Minister from 2015 to 2022, remains one of the prominent political figures from the state.
The renewed exchanges between the two political heavyweights have further intensified attention on the political realignment taking place in Rivers ahead of 2027.
Sambo also raised concerns over the political arrangement he said Wike was helping to build, claiming that some APC governors were already becoming apprehensive about its possible implications for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
According to him, the concern centres on the possibility that voters could support candidates from different political parties across various levels of the ballot, making the outcome of the presidential, governorship and legislative elections difficult to predict.
“If you look at Nyesom Wike and the governors in the APC right now, you see that the governors in the APC are already advising President Tinubu to be cautious of this coalition that Nyesom Wike is trying to put.
“They are afraid that on election day, not many people will be able to decipher between voting for president, APC, and then voting for governors, PDP, and then maybe voting for some other party.
“So, the governors are already having a morbid fear that this coalition that Nyesom Wike is building may actually injure President Tinubu at some point,” Sambo said.
With political alliances continuing to shift ahead of 2027, Rivers State is increasingly emerging as a crucial battleground where established political structures, opposition movements and competing alliances could collide.
Sambo’s warning therefore highlights the uncertainty surrounding the state’s electoral landscape, with the emergence of new political actors potentially making it harder for any single political bloc to predict or control the direction of voters.