Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has admitted that he and his allies deliberately worked against the presidential ambition of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the 2023 election, saying they backed Labour Party’s Peter Obi in parts of the country to weaken Atiku’s chances.
Wike made the disclosure on Wednesday during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he explained that the strategy was aimed at stopping Atiku, whom he described as the politician controlling the PDP’s chances in the election.
According to the minister, the group’s calculation was that giving Obi strong support in the South-East would deny Atiku the votes and political structure he needed to mount a stronger challenge against President Bola Tinubu.
“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.
He added, “Forget about all the noise about Obi. We gave it to him – take the South-East.”
Wike said former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, was also an important part of the political calculation because of his opposition to the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket adopted by the APC.
“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.”
The minister said the strategy was not driven by external forces but by internal political calculations within the PDP.
According to him, weakening Atiku’s support base, particularly in the South-East and South-South, was intended to reduce his chances of winning the presidency.
Wike’s comments provide a fresh account of the divisions within the PDP ahead of the 2023 presidential election, when the party went into the contest amid disagreements over its presidential ticket and the failure of some of its prominent members to support Atiku’s campaign.
Atiku eventually lost the election to Tinubu, while Obi finished third after securing significant support, particularly in the South-East and among younger voters across the country.
Wike was one of the five PDP governors known as the G-5 who refused to support Atiku’s presidential campaign after demanding the resignation of the party’s then National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, and calling for greater balance within the party’s leadership.
The latest disclosure by Wike shows that the divisions within the PDP were not merely internal disagreements but also formed part of the political calculations that shaped the 2023 presidential contest.
