Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that the G5 governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) backed Labour Party (LP) candidate Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election to prevent Atiku Abubakar, the party's candidate, from securing a majority of votes in the South-south geopolitical zone. This revelation was made during a project inspection visit, where Wike clarified his recent comments on the 2027 elections and the role of Rivers State and FCT.
According to Wike, the G5 governors developed this strategy after assessing the political strength of the major contenders in the 2023 presidential election. The South-south, being a PDP stronghold, was crucial in determining the election's outcome. Wike stated that if the PDP had voted for Atiku across the region, he would have won the election. The G5 governors' strategy aimed to deny Atiku the votes needed to win by supporting Obi.
Wike explained that the difference in votes between the president and Atiku was about two million, with the South-south region being a significant contributor to this difference. He emphasized that the G5 governors' strategy was not to support Obi's victory but to prevent Atiku from securing the bulk of the votes. This approach was based on the assessment that Atiku was a more significant threat than Obi.
The FCT minister also dismissed claims that the outcome in Rivers State was achieved by manipulating election results. Instead, he attributed the result to the political strategy adopted by the G5 governors. Wike stated that the assumption that Obi won in Rivers was largely made up by social media and that it was not enough to win an election by solely gaining social media traffic.
Wike further clarified that the strategy adopted by the G5 governors was not about altering election results but about influencing the outcome through voting. He explained that with about 7,000 polling units, conclusions about election results should not be based on a limited number of polling units.
The G5 governors' strategy was focused on preventing Atiku from winning, as they perceived him to be a more significant threat than Obi. Wike noted that Obi's threat was mainly limited to social media and the South-east or Igbo people, with a relatively small percentage of votes.
Wike's revelation has sparked calls for a probe into the matter. Former Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, and other stakeholders have expressed concerns about the implications of Wike's statement on the country's electoral process. The incident has raised questions about the role of political strategies in shaping election outcomes and the need for transparency in electoral processes.
Key points
- PDP G5 governors backed Peter Obi to prevent Atiku Abubakar from winning the 2023 presidential election in the South-south region.
- The strategy was adopted to deny Atiku the votes needed to win the election, as the G5 governors perceived him to be a more significant threat than Obi.
- Wike's revelation has sparked calls for a probe into the matter, raising questions about the role of political strategies in shaping election outcomes.
