2023 Election: Wike Rejects Rigging Claim, Explains G5 Strategy

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has rejected allegations that he manipulated the 2023 presidential election in the South-South to favour President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi.

Wike, who spoke with journalists in Abuja, yesterday, said his controversial remarks about the election were being misrepresented, insisting that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) G5 governors adopted a political strategy aimed at preventing the party’s presidential candidate at the time, Atiku Abubakar, from securing a decisive advantage in the South-South.

He dismissed claims that the strategy amounted to electoral rigging, challenging the critics to produce evidence from polling units or election tribunals to substantiate the allegation.

“How can they say I rigged the election? How would I have done it? So, I just took the result sheets, wrote them, and gave them to INEC?” Wike asked.

The minister’s comments followed renewed controversy over an earlier interview in which he disclosed that the G5 had strategically worked to ensure that Obi secured votes in parts of the South-South, thereby limiting the votes available to Atiku.

Wike said the strategy was based on the political calculation that Atiku posed the greater threat to the G5’s interests in the 2023 presidential election.

“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.

According to him, the South-South was traditionally a strong PDP base and allowing Atiku to secure the region’s votes could have significantly strengthened his presidential bid.

“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 added.

Wike said the strategy should not be confused with the manipulation of election results, arguing that political actors routinely calculate how to distribute their support during elections.

He also criticised what he described as excessive reliance on social media projections to determine electoral outcomes, stressing that presidential elections were conducted across thousands of polling units nationwide.

“I’ve always said social media does not win elections. You have about 176,000 polling units, and probably you have seen 300 polling units, and then you rush to the conclusion that so-and-so has won,” he said.

Wike further challenged those who alleged that the 2023 election in Rivers State was rigged to present the evidence they presented before the courts.

“You remember that when they went to the tribunal, did anybody tender any result from Rivers to say, ‘look, this is the result, we won’?” he asked.

The minister also dismissed the argument that Obi’s performance in Rivers State could have changed the overall outcome of the presidential election.

“Assuming Obi won Rivers, add it for him. Would he have won the election?” Wike asked.

He maintained that the G5’s objective was to prevent Atiku from maximising the PDP’s traditional advantage in the South-South, adding that the strategy ultimately achieved its political objective.

“Our major opponent was Atiku Abubakar, and if we didn’t do that, something would have happened,” he said.

Wike also argued that election rigging could not succeed in areas where a political candidate lacked genuine grassroots support, saying attempts to impose an unpopular candidate would face resistance from voters.

“When you talk about rigging, you cannot rig an election where you are not popular. You cannot. If you try that, you will see what happens to you. People will resist it,” he said.

He urged political commentators and members of the public to assess electoral claims through verified results and evidence rather than social media narratives.

“We had our strategy, and that strategy worked well for us,” Wike said.