How We Ensured Obi, Atiku Lost To Tinubu In 2023 – Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has disclosed how he and his allies worked to ensure that the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, lost the 2023 presidential election to President Bola Tinubu.

Wike described the move as a deliberate political strategy targeted at Atiku, whom he identified as the politician truly controlling the PDP’s chances in the election.

Speaking on Wednesday during a media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Wike said the strategy involved denying Atiku the support of key PDP structures, particularly in the South-East, in favour of Obi’s candidacy.

He said the plan was designed to weaken Atiku’s chances by allowing Obi to secure substantial support in the region.

“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.”

The minister explained that the then governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, was central to the strategy, given his reservations over the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket adopted by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“We knew his bias, we knew what was going to happen because of the Muslim-Muslim ticket,” Wike said.

According to him, the strategy was to block Atiku’s access to critical support while encouraging Obi to consolidate his political base in the South-East.

“We wanted to block Atiku, so we said, support Obi. It was a strategy. We wanted to defeat him, yes. And he took it,” he added.

Wike further claimed that the move effectively denied Atiku significant support from the South-South, which he argued could have changed the outcome of the 2023 presidential election.

He insisted that the PDP’s internal political calculations and divisions, rather than external factors, played a major role in the party’s defeat.

The revelation comes amid renewed political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, with former allies and opposition figures engaging in fresh consultations and negotiations over the country’s political future.