By Omeiza Ajayi
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, has warned the people of Rivers State that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Rotimi Amaechi and Peter Obi will play “kalokalo” with their destiny, urging them to reject the trio and back President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
“Kalokalo” is the Nigerian pidgin slang for playing games of chance, such as slot machines or sports betting.
The minister spoke on Friday at a Rainbow Coalition town hall meeting at Ayama in Abua/Odual Local Government Area LGA of Rivers State, before a crowd of traditional leaders, party faithful and community stakeholders.
“Don’t trust your destiny to political gamblers. Don’t trust your destiny to ‘kalokalo’ people,” Wike told the cheering crowd.
He described political gamblers as people who keep contesting for the presidency every four years, hoping to recover what they lost, without any genuine vision for the country.
He named Atiku and his Vice Presidential candidate, Amaechi, of the African Democratic Congress ADC, as well as Obi, the Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress NDC.
“These people are political gamblers and you cannot give your destiny to ‘kalokalo’ people; you cannot hand over your destiny to political gamblers. Give (your) destiny to somebody who we know, who has tried all this, and he has done it,” he said.
Wike argued that repeated presidential runs without a clear governance plan offer no real solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.
He said leaders such as Abraham Lincoln ran several times because of a clear national vision, while Atiku keeps running out of political habit and a desire to recoup his investments.
Defending his record in Rivers State, Wike told the people of Abua/Odual that project delivery, not political rhetoric, should decide their electoral choices.
He challenged Amaechi to show what he has contributed to the LGA, and pointed to projects executed there by his administration.
The minister praised Tinubu’s administration for stabilising critical national sectors and restoring industrial harmony in tertiary institutions. He asked Abua/Odual residents to remain with the administration heading into 2027.
Wike asked residents to vote for Tinubu as President and Mr Kingsley Chinda as governor, all under the All Progressives Congress APC. He also named Mr Felix Obua for Rivers West Senatorial District and Mr Solomon Boss for Abua-Odual-Ahoada East Federal Constituency, also on the APC platform.
He further asked them to vote for Mr John Iderima, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP candidate for the Abua/Odual state constituency.
Chinda, the APC governorship candidate in Rivers State, commended Wike for going from community to community to mobilise support for Tinubu and other candidates of the Rainbow Coalition.
“This is a system that we will sustain when we come into government. We have learnt from him, and we will continue. It will be a bottom-up approach; the people will decide and determine their fate in government,” Chinda said.
Earlier, Prof. Continue Eketu, who spoke on behalf of the Abua/Odual communities, described Wike as his idol and listed projects executed in the LGA during Wike’s tenure as governor.
“We have decided and agreed to vote massively for all candidates of the Rainbow Coalition,” Eketu said.
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