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Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has disclosed that the five aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors deliberately allowed Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to take votes from Atiku Abubakar in some South-South states during the 2023 presidential election.
Wike said the strategy was adopted by the G-5 governors to prevent Atiku, the PDP presidential candidate, from benefiting from the party’s stronghold in the region.
Speaking on Monday during an interview on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, Wike said the group identified Atiku as its main political concern and decided to allow Obi to win in some states where the PDP had a strong presence.
“How did he win? When the G-5, we sat, we had our strategy. We said in Edo, PDP is stronger in the South-South. Our problem will be Atiku. Therefore, instead of Atiku to take it, let it go to the Labour Party. That was our strategy,” he said.
Wike said the same calculation was applied in Cross River.
“Cross River, the same thing. That’s what we did,” he said.
He, however, said the strategy was not applied in Rivers State because of the political implications of an Obi victory in the state.
“It was only Rivers that said, ‘No, we have a problem here in Rivers. Obi will not win here because if he wins, he sends a signal somewhere, people may not understand it.’ And we stopped it,” Wike said.
Explaining the thinking behind the strategy, the FCT minister said the objective was to prevent Atiku from consolidating the PDP’s support base in the South-South.
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“But we agreed that, look, Atiku is a problem, PDP is strong in the South-South. So if PDP does not win in South-South, it’s a disadvantage to Atiku. Obi winning will not help Obi anywhere. We did that. We did that,” he said.
The five governors who formed the G-5 were Wike, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, former Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and former Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The group had opposed Atiku’s presidential candidacy ahead of the 2023 election and demanded changes in the PDP leadership structure and adherence to its zoning arrangement.
Wike also said the political circumstances that contributed to Obi’s performance in 2023 had changed ahead of the 2027 general election.
“In Cross River now, how will Obi win? In Akwa Ibom, how will he win? In Delta, how will he win?” he asked.
He further questioned Obi’s current political strength in the South-East and said the former Anambra State governor should consider a longer-term political strategy.
“For this election, leave it for Tinubu. Prepare for 2031,” Wike said.
