Federal Capital Territory Minister and former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has revealed that the decision of the five aggrieved Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors, known as the G-5, contributed to Peter Obi’s victory over Atiku Abubakar in Cross River State during the 2023 presidential election.
Wike made the disclosure while speaking during an interview on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, where he discussed the political strategy adopted by the G-5 during the 2023 election.
According to him, the group was opposed to Atiku’s presidential bid and deliberately adopted different strategies in some states to prevent the former PDP presidential candidate from gaining an advantage.
Wike specifically mentioned Cross River and Edo states, saying the G-5 allowed Obi, who contested the election on the platform of the Labour Party, to take votes that could otherwise have gone to Atiku.
“Cross River, the same thing. That’s what we did,” Wike was quoted as saying while explaining the strategy.
The development offers a fresh perspective on the political circumstances surrounding Obi’s victory in Cross River, where he secured 179,917 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, who polled 130,520 votes. Atiku came third with 95,425 votes.
Obi also won Edo State, recording 331,163 votes against Tinubu’s 144,471 and Atiku’s 89,585 votes.
The G-5 comprised Wike and four other former governors: Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu.
The group had opposed the PDP’s handling of its 2023 presidential ticket and demanded, among other things, the resignation of the party’s then-national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, before the election.
Wike said the group’s strategy was not uniformly applied across the South-South. He explained that Rivers State was treated differently because of the political calculations surrounding the state and the possible implications of an Obi victory there.
The latest revelation has renewed attention on Obi’s performance in Cross River, particularly because the Labour Party candidate’s victory came ahead of both Atiku and Tinubu in a state where the PDP had traditionally maintained a strong political presence.
Wike’s comments have also added a new dimension to discussions about the factors that shaped the 2023 presidential election in Cross River and other South-South states.
However, the extent to which the G-5’s actions directly influenced the final result cannot be independently quantified from Wike’s account alone. His comments represent his explanation of the group’s strategy during the election.
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