The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims by supporters of Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, that their principal won Rivers State, describing the assertion as a product of “imagination.”
Wike spoke on Monday during an interview on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout, where he was asked whether the support he enjoys in Rivers is organic, given the narrative by Obi’s supporters, popularly called Obidients, that their candidate won the state in the 2023 presidential election.
“They won by their own imagination,” he said. “Who did INEC declare to have won?”
The former Rivers State governor also questioned the strength of the claim, noting that it fell short when tested at the election petition tribunal.
“When they went to the tribunal, were they able to defend their claim?” he asked.
The FCT minister said the Obidients’ claim of victory was a matter for social media and not the ballot. “You can win on social media; I’m not interested in social media winning,” he added.
He also argued that no one could declare a winner from a single vantage point in the state, saying, “You don’t stay in one place in Port Harcourt and say Obi has won.” Rivers, he noted, the state capital has 23 local government areas.
Challenging Obi’s supporters to back their claim with evidence, Wike said: “Let them produce that result sheet that says Obi won.”
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