The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has revealed how the G-5 governors worked against the presidential ambition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the South-South during the 2023 general election.
Wike disclosed this on Monday during an interview on TVC's Journalists' Hangout, where he explained that the group deliberately allowed the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, to win some states to block Atiku.
"How did he win? When the G-5, we sat, we had our strategy. We said in Edo, PDP is stronger in the South-South. Our problem will be Atiku. Therefore, instead of Atiku to take it, let it go to the Labour Party. That was our strategy. Cross River, the same thing. That's what we did," he said.
He, however, said the group stopped Obi from winning Rivers State because of the political implications.
"It was only Rivers that said, 'No, we have a problem here in Rivers. Obi will not win here because if he wins, he sends a signal somewhere, people may not understand it.' And we stopped... we stopped it," Wike said.
The G-5, also known as the Integrity Group, comprised five PDP governors who opposed Atiku's candidacy in 2023, insisting that the party's presidential ticket should be zoned to the South after eight years of northern presidency under Muhammadu Buhari.
Members of the group were Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Nyesom Wike of Rivers and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu.
Wike said the strategy was adopted in Edo and Cross River, where the PDP was considered dominant, to prevent Atiku from securing the votes.
"But we agreed that, look, Atiku is a problem, PDP is strong in the South-South. So if PDP does not win in South-South, it's a disadvantage to Atiku. Obi winning will not help Obi anywhere. We did that. We did that," he stated.
The FCT minister questioned Obi's ability to repeat his 2023 performance in the region ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
"In Cross River now, how will Obi win? In Akwa Ibom, how will he win? In Delta, how will he win?" he asked.
According to Wike, the political circumstances that worked in Obi's favour in 2023 have changed, particularly the controversy over the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
"Under 2023 there was this campaign of Christianity, there was this campaign of Muslim-Muslim ticket. There was, there was, seriously, seriously. It's no longer there now. It's no longer there. No more like Muslim-Muslim ticket. Well, it doesn't work. Tinubu has been able to kill that," he said.
He further argued that Obi no longer enjoys the same level of support he had in the South-East during the last election.
"What people, what we know now, Obi does not have it, and he won't have it," Wike said.
He then advised the former Anambra State governor to shift his focus to 2031.
"For this election, leave it for Tinubu. Prepare for 2031. And that's the truth of the matter," Wike added.
