Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said the political circumstances that contributed to Peter Obi’s strong performance in the 2023 presidential election no longer exist ahead of the 2027 poll.
Wike specifically cited the controversy over the All Progressives Congress’s Muslim–Muslim presidential ticket as one of the factors that helped Obi attract support in 2023.
He spoke on Monday during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout.
“In 2023, there was this campaign of Christianity, Muslim–Muslim ticket. And it was serious. My own children had this support for Peter Obi,” Wike said.
According to the minister, the political environment has since changed, arguing that the Muslim-Muslim ticket is no longer an issue.
“But now, things have changed. There is no more Muslim–Muslim ticket. It doesn’t work anymore because Tinubu has been able to kill it,” he said.
Obi, then the Labour Party presidential candidate, polled 6.1 million votes in the 2023 election to finish third behind President Bola Tinubu of the APC, who secured 8.79 million votes, and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, who received 6.98 million votes.
G5 strategy
Wike, who was one of five PDP governors that formed the G5 ahead of the 2023 election, also revealed that the group deliberately adopted a strategy aimed at limiting Atiku’s votes in the South-South.
He said the governors considered Atiku and the PDP’s strength in the region a major threat and decided that Obi could take votes that might otherwise have gone to the PDP candidate.
“When you talk of South-South, I can tell you what happened. How did he (Obi) win? We, in the G5, had our strategy. We said, PDP is stronger in the South-South. And our problem would be Atiku,” Wike said. “Therefore, instead of Atiku to take it, let it go to the Labour Party.”
In a separate account of the 2023 strategy, Wike said the G5 specifically allowed Obi to gain ground in Edo and Cross River, where he said the PDP was strong, in order to deny Atiku those votes.
“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.
Wike said Rivers was treated differently because he feared an Obi victory there would have political implications.
“It was only in Rivers, I said, ‘No, Obi would not win here because if he does, it would send a wrong signal somewhere and people would not understand it.’ And we stopped it,” he said.
However, the official 2023 result shows that Obi won Rivers State with 155,583 votes, ahead of Tinubu with 130,209 and Atiku with 70,579.
The G5 comprised Wike, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, former Benue Governor Samuel Ortom, former Abia Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and former Enugu Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The group opposed Atiku’s candidacy amid a dispute over the PDP’s leadership and its decision to field another northern presidential candidate after eight years of Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency.
Wike has previously disclosed that the group’s strategy extended beyond the South-South. In September, he said the governors also encouraged support for Obi in the South-East as part of efforts to weaken Atiku’s electoral position.
‘Leave 2027 for Tinubu’
Wike, who was appointed FCT Minister by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, has remained a supporter of the President’s bid for a second term.
He rejected the possibility of Obi reproducing his 2023 performance in the next presidential election, arguing that the political support and circumstances that aided him four years ago had changed.
“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,” Wike said.
Wike also questioned how Obi could reproduce his 2023 performance in parts of the South-South, asking: “In Cross River now, how will Obi win? In Akwa Ibom, how will he win? In Delta, how will he win?”
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