Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, has rejected allegations that he manipulated the 2023 presidential election in the South-South in favour of President Bola Tinubu, insisting that no evidence was ever tendered at the tribunal to support claims that the Labour Party won Rivers State, and challenging supporters of Peter Obi to produce the official result sheet that proves their assertion.
Wike, who spoke in Abuja on Wednesday during an inspection tour of ongoing infrastructure projects, described the claim as a baseless narrative propagated primarily on social media. His clarification followed widespread criticism that erupted after his appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout on Monday, where he disclosed that the G5 group of governors deliberately allowed Obi to win in parts of the South-South to weaken the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Critics, public commentators and opposition figures interpreted the remarks as a public confession of voter manipulation, prompting the minister to draw a sharp distinction between political strategy and electoral fraud.
At the heart of Wike’s defence is a straightforward argument about the limits of individual influence. “People who don’t understand, how can they say I rigged the election? How would I have done it? So, I just took the result sheets, wrote it, and gave it to INEC?” he asked. He emphasised that social media projections often fail to reflect reality across Nigeria’s vast voting infrastructure, noting that observing results from a few hundred polling units and rushing to conclusions does not determine election outcomes. “I’ve always said social media does not win elections. You have about 176,000 polling units, and probably you have seen 300 polling units, and then you rush to the conclusion that so-and-so has won,” he said. “Election outcomes are not predicted this way.” He also pointed to the fact that opposition parties failed to substantiate rigging claims in court. “You remember that when they went to the tribunal, did anybody tender any result from Rivers to say, ‘look, this is the result, we won’?” he asked.
Detailing the G5’s strategy, Wike explained that the group identified Atiku as its primary threat because the South-South was traditionally a PDP stronghold. “We felt that Atiku was more of a factor in that election than Obi. So our strategy was that, make sure that you vote for Obi to win in order to deny Atiku the votes,” he said. “South-South was purely a PDP state and so if we had voted for PDP all through, then Atiku would have won. That was a threat.” He revealed that the strategy was applied in Edo and Cross River, but Rivers State was excluded. “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. He downplayed Obi’s broader national appeal, arguing that the Labour Party candidate was a threat only on social media. “Assuming Obi won Rivers, add it for him. Would he have won the election?” he asked. He attributed Obi’s 2023 performance to the controversy over the ruling party’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, a factor he said no longer exists.
The controversy has drawn sharp reactions from opposition figures and political commentators. A chieftain of the Labour Party, Yunusa Tanko, said Wike’s admission confirmed what the party had always known about the 2023 election. “This is a confirmation of what we have been saying. The G5 governors colluded with the APC to deny the Labour Party victory,” he said. “But what Wike fails to understand is that Nigerians have moved on. The 2027 election will be different.” A spokesperson for the Atiku campaign described Wike’s remarks as an admission of anti-party activity that should attract disciplinary action from the PDP. Wike has also faced criticism from within his own party. A former National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, described the minister’s statements as reckless and capable of damaging the party’s prospects ahead of the 2027 elections.
The dispute is not merely a matter of political rhetoric. It touches on the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral process and the credibility of the institutions that oversee it. According to figures from the Independent National Electoral Commission, Tinubu polled 231,591 votes in Rivers State, while Obi scored 175,071 and Atiku came third with 88,468. Tinubu won 14 of the state’s 23 local government areas, Obi won five, and Atiku won four. The figures were based on results collated from all 23 LGAs. Obi’s supporters have, however, continued to dispute the result, citing individual polling unit results and alleging irregularities during the collation process. An analysis by Premium Times of results uploaded to INEC’s Results Viewing Portal found a major discrepancy in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, where INEC’s declared figures showed Tinubu winning with 80,239 votes against Obi’s 3,829, while the tally from polling unit results showed a different outcome.
The political landscape has shifted significantly since the 2023 election. Atiku has since joined the African Democratic Congress, while Obi has aligned with the Nigeria Democratic Congress, setting the stage for a three-way contest in 2027. Wike has openly campaigned for Tinubu’s re-election, arguing that the President deserves a second term. He has dismissed suggestions that the G5’s strategy could be replicated in 2027, insisting that the conditions that favoured Obi in 2023 no longer exist. “What people need now, Obi does not have it and he would never have it. So for 2027, leave it for Tinubu. Come back in 2031,” he said. He also disclosed that a fresh political strategy had been put in place ahead of the 2027 general elections, though he declined to reveal its details. “We have our strategy in this election, and whether you like it or not, it’s not for us to let the cat out of the bag,” he said.
As Nigeria moves closer to the 2027 general elections, Wike’s remarks have reignited debates about the integrity of the 2023 polls and the role of political strategy in shaping electoral outcomes. The minister’s insistence that the G5’s actions were strategic rather than criminal has done little to quiet critics, who argue that openly admitting to manipulating voter choices, whether through political strategy or otherwise, undermines public confidence in the democratic process. For Wike, the matter is settled: the G5 had a strategy, it worked, and the results speak for themselves. For his critics, the questions remain unanswered, and the 2027 election will be the ultimate test of whether Nigerian voters are swayed by political calculations or the ballot.
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