Dalung urges Tinubu to check minister’s political conduct

The Rivers State chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has cautioned politicians against relying on boasts, intimidation, false claims and empty promises to win the 2027 elections, saying the people will ultimately determine the outcome at the polls.

The party was reacting to an alleged declaration by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, at a civic reception organised in his honour by the City Boy Movement at Omagwa at the weekend, that the ADC vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, would be defeated by noon on election day.

The state chairman of the ADC, Dr Chukwudi Dimkpa, in a statement yesterday, said Wike’s declaration was misplaced, stressing that elections were not won through boasts or premature claims.

“Elections are not won by boasts, intimidation or political strongmen announcing results in advance. Rivers people will vote, the votes will be counted, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), not Wike, will declare the winner,” he said.

Dimkpa described Wike’s conduct at Omagwa on Saturday as “political rascality taken too far”, accusing the minister and the Chairman of Ikwerre Local Council Area, Charles Wobodo, of turning a route being used by sympathisers travelling to Ubima for Amaechi’s mother’s burial into a political rally.

MEANWHILE, former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has challenged President Bola Tinubu to draw clear limits around the exercise of political power, following renewed tension between Wike and former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.

Dalung, on his Facebook wall, wrote that the controversy surrounding events in Rivers State showed the danger of allowing political rivalry to overshadow basic standards of public conduct.

Amaechi’s mother, Dame Ezinne Mary Oduah Amaechi, was buried in Ubima on Sunday, while Wike attended a political reception in nearby Omagwa.

Reports also emerged of security restrictions along routes linking the two communities. The Rivers State chapter of ADC alleged that the restrictions were intended to frustrate access to the burial.

Dalung said the allegation should be independently investigated before responsibility is established.
However, he argued that the wider issue went beyond the reported road restrictions. According to him, the incident raises questions about whether political influence is being allowed to operate without sufficient institutional restraint.

Dalung also criticised reported remarks at Wike’s reception about the 2027 election, saying political competition should not erase respect for an opponent’s personal loss.

He said politicians could fight elections, challenge one another and pursue opposing interests without turning every occasion into a political contest.