- Safiu Kehinde
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, has challenged former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, to a bet over the chance of President Bola Tinubu winning his re-election bid at the 2027 general election.
This is coming hours after El-Rufai ruled out Tinubu’s chances of winning the election.
The ex-FCT Minister, in an interview on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics programme, claimed that the 2027 general election will be decided by run-off with Tinubu failing to advance to the stage.
He held that the President would come third in the general poll, stressing that he has no pathway to victory.
El-Rufai further challenged Tinubu to invite former President Goodluck Jonathan and ask him how he was defeated in 2015 despite having the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Police, Army, and other government agencies under his control.
can tell you very clearly and I’ve said this before and I will say it again, the worst-case scenario in the 2027 election is that no winner will emerge in the first round.
“We will have to go for round off and Bola Tinubu will not be on the ballot for that round off because he will at best be third in the election.
“He has no pathway to win. I have done the maths. I have done the analysis. He cannot. He will be at best third.
“But he can deceive himself. He may think oh you know, I have money, because they have taken all the money in the country, I have INEC, Police, Army.
“You know what, President Tinubu, invite President Jonathan for a chat and ask him if he didn’t have all these in 2015 and we got him out.
“Tinubu has never election, that can be contested. I Nasir El-Rufai has said if you want to learn a lesson, invite President Jonathan over a cup of coffee and ask him what happened in 2015.” El-Rufai had said.
Reacting to the ex-Kaduna governor’s claim during his monthly media parley on Monday, Wike said faulted El-Rufai’s calculation, questioning how he arrived at the conclusion of Tinubu coming third without disclosed who comes first and second.
While acknowledging El-Rufai for his open-mindedness, Wike challenged him for a bet over Tinubu’s chances of winning.
“El-Rufai failed in his Mathematics. He goofed. He would have completed it.
“Since he knows Tinubu will come third, he should have also provided who will be first and second. You see how he failed mathematics.
“How did you arrive at who will be third that you will not announce who will be first and second? He knows.
“One thing I like about El-Rufai is that he speaks his mind. But sometimes, say the one that is correct. In this one, I will put a bet, if he agrees, if Tinubu does not win this election squarely. I will put a bet.” He said.
Wike further talked down El-Rufai’s boast of defeating Tinubu like former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“I heard him he said they should go and ask Jonathan, no two persons are the same.
“The mere fact that you were able to survive that and succeed does not mean you can do it again.
“We are also here too. As I’m sitting down here, do I look like somebody that you will come and win Rivers State? It is not possible.” He added.