Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has opened up on the political calculations adopted by his camp during the 2023 presidential election.
The former Rivers Governor has revealed how the Peoples Democratic Party’s G5 governors worked to prevent former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from benefiting fully from the South-South region.
Wike made the disclosure on Wednesday while speaking with journalists in Abuja after inspecting several ongoing infrastructure projects across the Federal Capital Territory.
Wike explained that the political calculation in 2023 was not primarily directed at Obi.
According to him, Atiku was regarded as the bigger political threat because of the strength of the PDP in the South-South.
He said the G5 recognised that allowing Atiku to secure the region would significantly increase his presidential votes.
The minister therefore said the group adopted a strategy that allowed Obi to benefit from votes in some parts of the region rather than allowing those votes to go to Atiku.
“We felt that Atiku was more of a factor in that election than Obi. So our strategy was to make sure that you vote for Obi to win in order to deny Atiku the votes,” he said.
Wike said the calculation was based on the political strength of the PDP in the South-South.
He explained that the region had historically been a stronghold of the party and that a strong performance by Atiku could have changed the political calculations of the election.
“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 said.
The former Rivers State governor also disclosed that Rivers State was treated differently from some other South-South states because of the political implications of an Obi victory in the state.
According to him, the G5 was concerned about the message an Obi victory in Rivers could send politically.
“It was only Rivers I said no; we have a problem here in Rivers. Obi will not win here because if he wins, it sends a signal somewhere they may not understand it,” he said.
The minister, however, rejected the allegation.
He questioned how he could have personally altered election results across the country and maintained that the outcome of an election involving thousands of polling units could not simply be determined by one individual.
“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.
Wike also challenged those who claimed that Obi won Rivers State in the 2023 presidential election to produce the evidence that was presented during the legal proceedings that followed the poll.
“Did anybody tender any result from Rivers State that, ‘Look, this is the result, we won’? Did anybody? It’s unfair. It’s unfortunate there’s nothing we can do,” he said.
The minister maintained that political parties and political blocs normally develop strategies based on their perception of the strength of their opponents.
He said the G5’s objective at the time was to reduce Atiku’s advantage rather than to hand Obi the presidency.
“When you are strategizing to win an election, you look at a lot of factors: who is my threat? If this is my threat, this is a lesser threat, and I know what to do so as to make sure that the vote of my major threat does not increase. You cannot rig an election where you are not popular. You cannot! If you try that, then you see what happens; people will resist it”, he said.
Wike also dismissed the importance often attached to social media discussions when assessing electoral strength.
He argued that online popularity should not automatically be treated as evidence of actual votes at polling units.
Away from the politics, Wike used Wednesday’s inspection tour to give updates on major infrastructure projects being executed across Abuja.
The minister inspected Road S1 in Kaura District, Collector Road C2 in Life Camp, Arterial Road N16 in Gwarinpa and the Jereton Mariere Street project around the Apo Legislative Quarters in Gudu.
He also visited the IBB Golf Course, where renovation and remodelling work is ongoing.
Wike said the Kaura district road and bridges were expected to be completed and handed over by December 15.
He also gave a similar assurance on the Life Camp collector road and its connection to the old Keffi road.
For the N16 project in Gwarinpa, the minister said the contractor had promised to deliver the project by the first week of January despite the difficult terrain along the route.
He said the completion of the road would significantly improve movement around Gwarinpa and surrounding districts.
“If that N16 job is completed, obviously, the entire area will be a different thing altogether. That is a very huge infrastructure landmark,” he said.
Wike also spoke about the IBB Golf Course, which has been affected by an internal dispute among some members.
He said a committee headed by the President of the Court of Appeal had been constituted to address the matter.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu had also directed that the facility be reopened because of its importance to the Presidency and members of the diplomatic community.
Wike said the renovation was expected to be completed in time for a tournament scheduled for November.
The minister further disclosed that implementation of the FCT’s 2026 capital budget had reached at least 60 per cent.
He said the initial delay in releasing funds had affected payments to contractors but added that the situation had improved.
“I am happy if these projects are completed before the election time; it will be a Christmas gift to the residents of Abuja by Mr President,” he said.
The minister also responded to questions concerning criticism from a lawmaker over a loan.
Rather than dwell on the allegation, Wike challenged politicians seeking re-election to present their records before voters.
He argued that lawmakers should be judged by what they achieved while in office.
“The issue now is, if you want to run in the election, go and tell people: assuming that I took a loan, what did you do? You did nothing. That means you are not a good legislator, you didn’t do your work,” he said.