ABUJA, Nigeria (Chatnewstv.com) — Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has dismissed predictions by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may not make the top two in Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.
El-Rufai said in a weekend television interview that Tinubu could finish in third place, warning that the election may head to a run-off because no candidate was likely to secure a first-round majority.
Responding Monday, Wike said the former governor’s analysis was incomplete and illogical.
“El-Rufai is my friend, but he failed in this mathematics, he goofed,” Wike told reporters. “He should have completed it. Since he knows Tinubu would come third, he should also provide who would be first and second.”
The minister said El-Rufai’s forecast underestimated Tinubu’s political strength. “One thing I like about El-Rufai is that he speaks his mind, but sometimes speaking your mind, say the one that is correct,” Wike said. “In this one, I will put a bet, if he agrees, that Tinubu will win this election squarely.”
El-Rufai had also likened Tinubu’s prospects to those of former President Goodluck Jonathan, who lost re-election in 2015 despite controlling state resources and security institutions. Wike dismissed the comparison.
“They said they should go and ask Jonathan. No two persons are the same,” Wike said. “The mere fact that you were able to succeed in that does not mean you can do that again.”
The minister, a former governor of Rivers State, added that opposition forces would struggle to take control of his home state in 2027. “As I am sitting down here, do I look like someone you can come and win Rivers State from? It is not possible,” he said.
