The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has denied allegations that he rigged the 2023 presidential election in the South-South to favour President Bola Tinubu over the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, saying the results came from a political strategy adopted by the G5 governors.
Wike made the clarification on Wednesday while speaking with journalists in Abuja, describing the allegations as claims largely driven by social media discussions.
The minister had faced criticism after an earlier appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, where he discussed the role of the G5 governors in the 2023 election and said the group adopted a strategy that allowed Obi to secure victories in some parts of the South-South.
His comments sparked reactions from political opponents, commentators and other members of the public, with some interpreting them as an admission that the election had been manipulated.
Wike, however, rejected that interpretation and said the G5 strategy was designed to reduce the political advantage of Atiku Abubakar, who was the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party at the time.
He questioned how one person could manipulate results across thousands of polling units, noting that election results are generated through a wide network of polling stations and electoral officials.
The minister also dismissed conclusions based mainly on social media trends, arguing that online discussions do not represent the full picture of what happens during elections across the country.
According to him, Nigeria has about 176,000 polling units, making it difficult to determine an election outcome from results or reports gathered from only a small number of locations.
Wike also referred to the legal challenges that followed the 2023 presidential election. He said opposition parties that challenged the election results in court did not present Rivers State results as evidence to establish that they had actually won the state.
Explaining the G5’s political calculation in the South-South, Wike said the group considered Atiku to be the stronger political threat because the region had traditionally been an important base for the PDP.
He explained that the strategy involved directing some support towards Obi in certain areas in order to reduce the number of votes Atiku could secure from the region. According to him, allowing the PDP presidential candidate to dominate the South-South would have increased Atiku’s overall advantage.
Wike also played down Obi’s popularity at the national level during the 2023 election, saying the G5’s decisions were based on electoral calculations rather than the level of attention Obi received on social media.
He argued that even if Obi had won Rivers State, the additional votes would not have been enough to change the overall outcome of the presidential election.
The minister further rejected the idea that election results could simply be manipulated in areas where a candidate lacked genuine grassroots support. He said attempts to alter results in such places could face resistance from voters.
Wike maintained that the G5 governors had a clear political strategy during the 2023 election and that the approach achieved its intended objective of limiting Atiku’s advantage in the South-South.
He urged political commentators and members of the public to examine actual election procedures and verified results when discussing the 2023 election rather than relying mainly on social media claims and speculation.