2027: Wike says Obi’s 2023 South-East support gone

The NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi, no longer commands the level of support he enjoyed in the South-East during the 2023 presidential election, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has claimed.

Wike made the assertion during an interview on TVC News’ Journalists’ Hangout on Monday while discussing the political landscape ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The former Rivers State governor said the political circumstances that gave Obi an advantage in parts of the country during the 2023 election had changed, insisting that the situation was no longer the same.

According to him, Obi’s strong showing in the South-East during the last presidential election should not be used as a measure of his current political strength ahead of 2027.

“No longer now. What we know now, Obi does not have it. I won’t have it in this, and that’s the truth of the matter,” Wike said.

Wike attributed Obi’s 2023 performance partly to the political calculations surrounding the election, particularly the strategy adopted by the G5 governors — a group he led alongside governors Seyi Makinde, Samuel Ortom, Okezie Ikpeazu and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

The minister said the group had a strategy aimed at preventing former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, from gaining an advantage in some regions.

“How did he win? We in the G5, we said we have a strategy,” Wike said.

He explained that the G5 believed the PDP had a strong base in the South-South but considered Atiku a challenge, leading to a decision that allowed the Labour Party candidate to benefit in some states.

“Our problem will be Atiku. Therefore, instead of Atiku to take it, let you go to the Labour Party. That was crossover,” he said.

Wike said Rivers State was treated differently because of concerns over the political message an Obi victory there could send.

“It was only Rivers I said no, we have a problem here in Rivers, Obi will not win here because if he wins, he sends a signal somewhere they may not understand it,” he said.

The FCT minister also dismissed the idea that large crowds at political rallies automatically represent electoral strength, saying political support must be assessed beyond public gatherings.

“If you are using based on the fact that there are rallies, then you are making a very big mistake,” Wike said.

Speaking on the 2027 election, Wike advised political actors not to judge the contest based solely on the dynamics of the 2023 election.

“It does not matter how you abuse me. It does not matter how you abuse me. But the truth of the matter is that for this election, leave it for Tinubu. Prepare for 2031, and that’s the truth of the matter,” he said.

Obi contested the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the Labour Party, where he finished third behind Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.

Ahead of the 2027 election, Obi has moved to the NDC platform, where he is expected to contest the presidency again.