Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that the G-5 governors deliberately allowed Peter Obi to win in parts of the South-South during the 2023 presidential election, as part of a strategy to weaken the chances of the then Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar.
Speaking on Monday during an interview on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, Wike explained that the group settled on the approach after concluding that the PDP’s traditional strength in the region would work against it if left to Atiku.
‘How did he win? When the G-5, we sat, we had our strategy. We said in Edo, PDP is stronger in the South-South. Our problem will be Atiku. Therefore, instead of Atiku to take it, let it go to the Labour Party. That was our strategy. Cross River, the same thing. That’s what we did.’
He said the same approach applied in Cross River, where the PDP was also seen as strong enough to boost Atiku if the party won.
Rivers State, however, was excluded from the arrangement. Wike said the group blocked Obi from winning there over concerns about the political message such a result would send.
‘It was only Rivers that said, ‘No, we have a problem here in Rivers. Obi will not win here because if he wins, he sends a signal somewhere, people may not understand it.’ And we stopped…we stopped it,’ Wike said.
The G5 were PDP governors who opposed Atiku’s presidential bid in 2023, insisting the party’s ticket should have gone to a southern candidate after eight years of northern rule under Muhammadu Buhari. The group was made up of Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Wike of Rivers and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu.
According to Wike, the calculation behind the strategy was straightforward: a PDP loss in the South-South would hurt Atiku directly, whereas a win for Obi would do little to advance his own presidential prospects.
‘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.
Turning to the 2027 election, Wike questioned whether Obi could repeat his 2023 performance in the South-South, pointing specifically to Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Delta states.
‘In Cross River now, how will Obi win? In Akwa Ibom, how will he win? In Delta, how will he win?’ Wike asked.
He argued that the conditions that favoured Obi in 2023 no longer exist, particularly the backlash over the ruling party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
‘Under 2023 there was this campaign of Christianity, there was this campaign of Muslim-Muslim ticket. There was, there was, seriously, seriously.’
Wike said that controversy has since lost its force.
‘It’s no longer there now. It’s no longer there. No more like Muslim-Muslim ticket. Well, it doesn’t work. Tinubu has been able to kill that.’
He also said Obi’s support base in the South-East had weakened since 2023.
‘What people, what we know now, Obi does not have it, and he won’t have it,’ he said.
Wike then urged Obi to shift his focus away from 2027 and prepare instead for the 2031 election.
‘For this election, leave it for Tinubu. Prepare for 2031. And that’s the truth of the matter.’