The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has rejected allegations that he manipulated the 2023 presidential election in the South-South region to favour President Bola Tinubu over the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi.
Wike, who made the rebuttal while addressing journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, described the claim as a “baseless narrative propagated primarily on social media.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that widespread criticism erupted across the political sphere after Wike’s remarks during an interview on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, claiming that his G5 group of governors strategically allowed Obi to win in parts of the South-South.
Critics, public commentators and opposition figures argued that Wike’s statement was a public confession of voter manipulation.
Reacting, Wike clarified that the results were the product of a calculated electoral strategy aimed at neutralising major political threats rather than illegal manipulation.
Responding to critics who accused him of altering result sheets in favour of Tinubu, Wike wondered how an individual could single-handedly dictate the outcome across thousands of polling units.
“People who don’t understand, how can they say I rigged the election? How would I have done it? So, I just took the result sheets, wrote it, and gave it to INEC?” he asked.
He emphasised that social media projections often fail to reflect the reality across the country’s vast voting infrastructure.
“I’ve always said social media does not win elections. You have about 176,000 polling units, and probably you have seen 300 polling units and then you rush to the conclusion that so-and-so has won.
“Election outcomes are not predicted this way,” he said.
Wike also noted that, in spite of the public outcry following the election, opposition parties failed to substantiate claims of rigging in court.
“You remember that when they went to the tribunal, did anybody tender any result from Rivers to say, ‘look, this is the result, we won’?” he added.
Detailing the tactical approach adopted in the South-South, traditionally a stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Wike explained that PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar was identified as the primary threat to their political coalition, known as the G5.
To prevent Atiku from securing the region, Wike explained that their strategy involved routing votes towards Peter Obi in specific areas to split the opposition base and suppress Atiku’s margin.
“We felt that Atiku was more of a factor in that election than Obi. So our strategy was that, make sure that you vote for Obi to win in order to deny Atiku the votes.
“South-South was purely a PDP state and so if we had voted for PDP all through, then Atiku would have won. That was a threat,” he said.
The minister downplayed Obi’s broader national surge, noting that strategic calculations required focusing on hard numbers rather than online popularity.
“Obi wasn’t a threat. Obi was merely a threat by social media. Even if Obi had secured Rivers outright, it would not have altered the outcome of the presidential race.
“Assuming Obi won Rivers, add it for him. Would he have won the election?” he asked.
Wike also argued that attempting to manipulate an election without genuine grassroots popularity was impossible in Nigeria’s current political landscape.
“When you talk about rigging, you cannot rig an election where you are not popular. You cannot. If you try that, then you see what will happen to you. People will resist it,” he added.
Wike urged political analysts and the public to focus on electoral mechanics and verified facts rather than online commentary.
“We had our strategy, and that strategy worked well for us.
“Our major opponent was Atiku Abubakar and if we didn’t do that, something would have happened,” he said.
