Former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, has mocked the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over comment about the 2027 presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, Wike had boasted that there would be no chance for the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election to grab the party?s ticket in 2027.

?He is lobbying for another chance, but the chance will not be there. In which party? How can we rely on one man for so many years??

Responding to a question on the recent comment by Atiku that his economic blueprint would rescue and serve Nigerians better than what President Bola Tinubu was offering, Wike said Atiku had previously presented his blueprint before Nigerians but they rejected him.

?Did he not present it before Nigerians? Did Nigerians choose him? He is lobbying for another chance, the chance will not be there. In which party? How can we use one man for how many years??

?Look at America, I?m sure you all did not support Trump saying he is this, he is a racist, he is that, we are crying, Americans are thinking about something else, thinking for the good of their own country made a decision. You presented your blueprint in 2023, Nigerians heard you clearly and said thank you, but it will not work, we will not support you. Criticism does not mean opposition is working.?

But speaking through his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku told Wike of their past encounters, particularly during the 2019 election. He noted that Wike would have tried to claim the presidential ticket for himself if he had the power to distribute it.

?If he had the power to distribute presidential tickets like party favours, he?d certainly have kept one for himself. After all, Atiku thoroughly schooled him and his chosen prot?g? in his own backyard ahead of the 2019 election and then handed him a resounding defeat in the 2023 primaries in Abuja.?

Atiku?s spokesperson, Shaibu, also questioned Wike?s focus on the 2027 election, especially when he has publicly stated that Bola Tinubu is destined to win and admonished him to be more concerned about the urgent issues Nigerians face, such as the rising cost of living and hunger, rather than early political moves for the next election. ?This hunger is becoming unbearable; it?s what we should be addressing, not political maneuvers for 2027.?

(Daily Sun)