By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has denied insinuations that the political strategy deployed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) G5 during the 2023 presidential election amounted to manipulation of the outcome in Rivers State.
Wike said no evidence was tendered at the tribunal to support claims that the Labour Party (LP) won the state in the election.
He spoke after an inspection tour of ongoing projects in the Federal Capital Territory, where he also disclosed that a fresh political strategy had been put in place ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Wike explained that the PDP G5 bloc, of which he was a member, had deployed a strategy during the 2023 presidential election aimed at denying former Vice President Atiku Abubakar votes in the South-South region.
According to him, Atiku, rather than Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, was considered the major political threat to the G5 at the time.
“Our strategy was that, listen, you vote, make sure that you vote for Obi to win, in order to deny Atiku the votes,” he said.
Wike said the South-South was traditionally a PDP stronghold and that if the region had voted strictly along party lines, Atiku would have benefited from the bloc’s strength.
He, however, rejected claims that the strategy amounted to manipulation of the election outcome in Rivers State.
“Did anybody tender any result from Rivers State that, ‘Look, this is the result, we won’? Did anybody? It’s unfair. It’s unfortunate there’s nothing we can do,” he said.
The minister said every political camp had its own strategy during the election, adding that such strategies were not necessarily made public.
“We have our strategy in this election, and whether you like it or not, it’s not for us to let the cat out of the bag,” he said.
Wike further explained that his political opposition at the time was Atiku, not Obi, arguing that the perception of Obi’s strength was largely driven by social media rather than the actual distribution of votes.
“When you are strategizing to win an election, you look at a lot of factors: who is my threat? If this is my threat, this is a lesser threat, and I know what to do so as to make sure that the vote of my major threat does not increase.
“You cannot rig an election where you are not popular. You cannot. If you try that, then you see what happens; people will resist it,” he said.
FCT projects
Speaking on the projects inspected, Wike said the Kaura District road and bridges would be completed and handed over by December 15.
He also said the Collector Road C2 in Life Camp, including its link to the old Keffi Road, would be completed and handed over in December.
On Arterial Road N16 in Gwarinpa, the minister said the contractor had assured him that the project would be completed by the first week of January despite the difficult terrain.
He said the completed road would transform the Gwarinpa area.
Wike also spoke on the IBB Golf Course, which was shut following a dispute among some of its members.
He said a committee led by the President of the Court of Appeal had been constituted to address the issues, adding that President Bola Tinubu had directed that the facility be reopened because of its importance to the Presidency and the diplomatic community.
He said the project was expected to be ready ahead of a scheduled tournament in November.
“I am happy if these projects are completed before the election time; it will be a Christmas gift to the residents of Abuja by Mr President,” Wike said.
On the FCT budget, Wike said implementation was progressing following President Tinubu’s assent, disclosing that the 2026 capital budget had recorded no less than 60 per cent performance despite delays in its release.
He said the delay had earlier affected payments to contractors.
Wike also responded to questions concerning criticisms from a lawmaker over a loan, urging politicians seeking re-election to present their records to voters.
“The issue now is, if you want to run in the election, go and tell people: assuming that I took a loan, what did you do? You did nothing. That means you are not a good legislator, you didn’t do your work,” he said.
He added that, according to him, residents of Abuja had already indicated their support for Philip Tanimu Aduda for the Senate.
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