Wike Mocks Atiku Over Party Defections — “If I Were His Son, I’d Ask Why He Keeps Jumping From Party to Party”

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has taken a swipe at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his 2027 presidential ambition, questioning his consistent party switches over the years.

Speaking during a media parley in Abuja, Wike criticized Atiku’s long history of defection from one political party to another in pursuit of the presidency, noting that his recent move from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was hardly surprising.

“Atiku was in the PDP in 1999, then he joined the Action Congress (AC). After AC, he returned to the PDP, later moved to the APC, and then back to the PDP again, all in pursuit of the presidential ticket,” Wike said.

He added sarcastically, “If I were his son, I would sit him down and ask: ‘Dad, how can you keep hopping from one party to another at almost 80 years old?’”

Wike also dismissed the new opposition coalition said to be forming ahead of the 2027 elections with the goal of unseating President Bola Tinubu and the APC. He accused Atiku of pushing the alliance simply because he no longer had a realistic shot at securing the PDP’s presidential ticket.

“The way the PDP is now, it is not likely that Atiku would get a ticket, therefore it is not comfortable,” Wike said. “So, he tells you, let’s do a coalition against Tinubu. It’s not right. It is because he cannot get the presidential ticket under the PDP that he pushed for a coalition.”

Wike’s remarks have added fuel to the already growing political tension as the race for 2027 slowly begins to unfold.