Nigerian Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has made a remarkable promise ahead of the country's 2027 presidential election. Wike stated that if President Bola Tinubu does not win both Rivers State and the FCT, he will resign as minister the following day. This bold claim has raised eyebrows, especially given Wike's past involvement in the 2023 presidential election in Rivers State. Wike's statement has sparked concerns about the potential manipulation of election results.
During the 2023 presidential election, Wike, who was then governor of Rivers State, supported Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress despite being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party. Tinubu won the election in Rivers State with 231,591 votes, while Peter Obi of the Labour Party received 175,071 votes and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP received 88,468 votes. However, investigations by the BBC and PREMIUM TIMES revealed discrepancies in the election results, with some polling stations reporting different numbers.
The BBC examined result sheets from over 6,000 polling stations in Rivers State and concluded that Peter Obi, not Tinubu, received the most votes. The BBC found that Tinubu's officially declared Rivers total was over 106,000 votes higher than the total derived from the polling-station sheets examined. Obi's officially declared vote moved in the opposite direction, being over 50,000 lower than the BBC's tally. These findings have raised questions about the legitimacy of the election results.
In Obio/Akpor, Wike's local government area, the discrepancies were particularly striking. INEC announced 80,239 votes for Tinubu and only 3,829 for Obi. However, the BBC found 17,293 votes for Tinubu and 74,033 votes for Obi. PREMIUM TIMES also conducted a separate investigation, reviewing presidential result sheets uploaded to INEC's IReV portal for 1,116 of Obio/Akpor's 1,211 polling units. The investigation found apparent alterations and mutilations on some result sheets.
The 2023 election results in Rivers State have been disputed, with some politicians questioning the legitimacy of the outcome. Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, then governor of Jigawa State, commended Wike for delivering Rivers State to Tinubu, stating that he and other APC chieftains were surprised when Wike fulfilled his promise. However, Badaru's comments have raised eyebrows, given the allegations of election manipulation.
Wike's latest promise to resign if Tinubu does not win Rivers State and the FCT in 2027 has sparked concerns about the potential manipulation of election results. Wike's confidence in Tinubu's victory has raised questions, especially given the disputed results of the 2023 election. The fact that Tinubu did not win up to 25% of the votes in the FCT in 2023 has also been pointed out.
Ultimately, voters decide an election, not governors, ministers, or political godfathers. Wike's promise has highlighted the need for transparent and free elections in Nigeria. The fact that no court of law has proven that Wike personally altered any election result does not rule out concerns about the legitimacy of the election outcome. Wike's challenge to Obi's supporters to produce result sheets showing that Obi won Rivers State has also been met with skepticism.
Key points
- Wike's promise to resign if Tinubu does not win Rivers State and the FCT in 2027 has sparked concerns about election manipulation.
- Investigations by the BBC and PREMIUM TIMES revealed discrepancies in the 2023 presidential election results in Rivers State.
- Wike's involvement in the 2023 presidential election and his support for Tinubu have raised questions about his role in the election outcome.
