By Okoi Obono-obla
The recent attempt by naysayers to twist the statement made by the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to mean that he rigged the 2023 presidential election in Rivers State is mischievous, dishonest and politically motivated.
What did Wike actually say? He said the G-5 Governors, in pursuit of their principled stand on zoning and fairness in the Peoples Democratic Party, adopted a tactical voting strategy. They encouraged voters in the Southsouth, a traditional PDP stronghold, to vote for Peter Obi of the Labour Party in certain areas in order to deny Atiku Abubakar the bloc votes he was banking on. That is legitimate political strategy. It is not rigging.
Rigging has a clear meaning in our electoral law: ballot stuffing, falsification of results, manipulation of BVAS, voter intimidation. Wike never claimed any of that. He spoke of political calculation, which every serious politician does.
The G-5 cause was open and just. The PDP jettisoned zoning and embraced a politics of exclusion against the South. Wike and his colleagues – Governors Seyi Makinde, Okezie Ikpeazu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Samuel Ortom – openly said they would not support Atiku. There was no secret plot.
Wike also threw a challenge that remains unanswered till today: who tendered polling unit results from Rivers State at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to prove that results were manipulated? You cannot claim victory on the basis of 300 polling units trending on social media when the country has over 176,000 polling units.
Nyesom Wike is the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and has carved a niche for himself as a blunt, straightforward and courageous politician. He has done brilliantly well in his assignment as Minister, as evidenced by the massive road, bridge and infrastructure projects ongoing across Abuja, with over 60 percent implementation of the capital budget despite late passage.
Those linking his 2023 strategy to the Rainbow Coalition of 2026 which is mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu’s second term bid are also being unfair. Wike remains in the PDP but believes Tinubu has done well and deserves support. That is a legitimate political conviction.
Atiku was not rigged out in Rivers. He was outplayed politically.
