Wike Reveals How He Helped Defeat Atiku, Obi in 2023 Election
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has disclosed how he and members of his political camp worked against the presidential ambition of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 election.
Wike said the move was deliberate and was aimed at stopping Atiku from taking control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and winning the presidency.
He also explained how Peter Obi’s Labour Party campaign in the South-East fitted into the strategy.
The former Rivers State governor made the disclosure on Wednesday during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
According to Wike, he and his allies identified Atiku as the major political force they needed to stop within the PDP.
He said they therefore encouraged political support for Obi in the South-East, a region where the PDP had traditionally enjoyed considerable backing.
“Do you know what we did in 2023? Let me tell you now to shock you. We knew that the man who was controlling the election was Atiku,” Wike said.
“Forget about all the noise about Obi. We gave it to him – take the South-East.”
Wike said the strategy was not accidental. He described it as a calculated political decision designed to reduce Atiku’s electoral strength and prevent the former vice president from benefiting fully from the PDP’s traditional support base.
He particularly mentioned former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom as an important figure in the plan.
According to Wike, Ortom’s position on the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket adopted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) was known to members of the group.
Tinubu had picked Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim from Borno State, as his running mate.
“We knew his bias, we knew what was going to happen because of the Muslim-Muslim ticket,” Wike said.
“We wanted to block Atiku, so we said, support Obi. It was a strategy. We wanted to defeat him, yes. And he took it.”
Recall, Atiku had emerged as the PDP presidential candidate after defeating Wike and other aspirants at the party’s presidential primary in May 2022.
Wike finished second with 237 votes, while Atiku secured 371 votes.
The relationship between the two politicians deteriorated further after Atiku chose Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate instead of Wike.
Wike subsequently joined forces with Ortom, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to form the group popularly known as the G5 governors.
The group demanded the resignation of then PDP National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu, arguing that the party could not have both its presidential candidate and national chairman coming from the North.
Wike and his allies refused to campaign for Atiku despite remaining members of the PDP.
The political dispute also coincided with Peter Obi’s departure from the PDP.
Obi resigned from the party in May 2022, shortly before its presidential primary, and later joined the Labour Party.
His campaign gained significant support across the South-East and among young voters in several parts of the country.
The development weakened the PDP’s traditional position in the South-East.
In the 2023 presidential election, Obi won all five states in the South-East. Atiku did not win any state in the zone, while Tinubu won Rivers State, where Wike was governor at the time.
The 2023 presidential election was eventually won by Tinubu of the APC. He polled 8,794,726 votes, while Atiku came second with 6,984,520 votes.
Obi finished third with 6,101,533 votes, according to the final results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Tinubu secured victory despite the strong showing by Obi in the South-East and parts of the South-South and North-Central.
