Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike revealed during a media chat on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, how he and his political allies deliberately worked to defeat Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar during the 2023 presidential election.
Wike explained that the group identified Atiku as the primary force to contain within the PDP and engineered a strategy to fracture the party’s traditional southern support base by encouraging backing for Labour Party candidate Peter Obi in the South-East.
Key disclosures from Wike regarding the 2023 election strategy include:
* Targeted Regional Reallocation: Wike stated that the group explicitly calculated that ceding the South-East to Obi would deny Atiku critical electoral margins needed to win the presidency.
* Role of Allied Governors: The minister highlighted former Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom’s position, noting that Ortom’s opposition to the All Progressives Congress Muslim-Muslim ticket was leveraged to channel regional backing toward Obi, thereby blocking Atiku’s momentum in parts of the North-Central and South-East.
* Fragmentation of PDP Strongholds: Wike noted that directing support toward Obi successfully severed the PDP's historic hold on the South-East and South-South regions.
The internal rift within the PDP originated during the May 2022 primary, where Atiku defeated Wike by 371 votes to 237. Relations worsened after Atiku selected Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate, leading Wike to co-found the G5 group of PDP governors alongside Ortom, Seyi Makinde, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. The faction refused to campaign for Atiku, demanding the resignation of then-PDP National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu to uphold regional power-sharing principles.
In the final 2023 election results, Obi swept all five South-East states, while APC candidate Bola Tinubu won Rivers State and secured the presidency with 8.79 million votes. Atiku placed second with 6.98 million votes, and Obi finished third with 6.10 million votes.
