The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has berated former vice president Atiku Abubakar for condemning the local government election in Rivers State.

Atiku had condemned the results of last Saturday’s election, stressing that a powerful cabal was out to suppress democracy in the state.

Reacting during his monthly media chat, Wike argued that President Bola Tinubu has the authority to make regulations in emergency areas

He mocked Atiku’s relationship with his former principal, Olusegun Obasanjo, arguing that if he had been obedient to the former president, he would have recalled that Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in 2004.

Wike said, “The court stopped the last local government election, and the government went ahead to conduct the election. The same Atiku hailed the government for disobeying the court order.

“The Federal High Court gave an injunction that the election not be held and we thought that as a man who occupied that number two position, all he would have done was say look, we are in a democratic system, it doesn’t matter how the judgment goes, you must respect the rule of law.

“But he supported that election should take place. I don’t blame Atiku because he was recalcitrant to his boss, he didn’t know that his boss signed emergency rule in 2004, if he was obedient and worked with Obasanjo, he would have known that the president has power to make regulations in emergency areas.

“So he was not in tune and like I said, what you don’t know you don’t comment about it.”