President Bola Tinubu used a campaign rally in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Saturday to challenge African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar to explain how he was able to build a private university while serving as Nigeria’s vice‑president. Tinubu accused Atiku of using “the efforts and money of Nigerians” to fund the university and called him “a man without moral integrity and ethics for the office.”
Speaking to a large crowd of supporters, Tinubu linked the current hunger crisis to policies he said were created by previous leaders, including Atiku. “To every salary earner, there is a dependent and somebody sharing the food at home. Those people talking of hunger are talking about the mess they created. Atiku was one of them,” he said, adding that his administration was working to “clean up the mess inherited from previous governments.”
The president also praised Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike, describing him as a “development partner” who was “doing a wonderful job, committed, very hardworking, a man with vision.” Tinubu thanked Wike for his contribution to the country’s infrastructural development, while the rally was attended by Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara, top APC leaders and other stakeholders.
Wike, speaking later at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Ikwerre Local Government Area, declared that Rivers State had already decided to vote for Tinubu in the 2027 general election. He emphasized that the crowd of “40,000” was mobilised solely from Rivers and that the state would “vote for you” on 16 January. Wike also recalled Tinubu’s previous campaign venues and highlighted projects he credited to the president, including the Port Harcourt‑Bodo‑Bonny road, the Federal University of Environment in Ogoni, and “no fewer than 47 political appointments since the inception of democracy in 1999.”
In addition to targeting Atiku, Wike criticized the ADC’s vice‑presidential candidate for claiming he did not need to campaign in Rivers State, warning that “nobody is going to vote for him.” He concluded with a joke about the candidate’s promise to “fumigate” Rivers against mosquitoes, drawing laughter from the audience.
<small>Source: The Sun Nigeria — read the original story there.</small>
