Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has dismissed claims by Peter Obi and the Obidient movement that they won the 2023 presidential election in Rivers State. He recently had his say while speaking on TVC’s Journalists Hangout programme, and Nigerians have been reacting.
Declaring that any such victory existed only on social media and in their imagination, Wike maintained that neither Obi nor Atiku Abubakar can defeat him in the state.
Insisting that political victories are determined at the polling units and declared by INEC, he declared that politicians should stop acting like results are announced on the internet.
His words, “They won in their imagination. I have always told people: they won in their imagination. Nobody declared them to have won. I have been in this system; I am in this game. When Obi went to the Timber Market or somewhere in Rivers State and they were shouting ‘Obi! Obi!’, is that how you win an election?
Out of over 7,000 polling units, until all results have come in, even if 200 polling units come out and say Obi or Atiku has won, it does not convince me. They went to the tribunal, were they able to tender or prove to the court that they won the election? You can win on social media, but I am not interested in social media winning. I am interested practically in the results on the ground, who won, and who was declared.
I started this game in 1999 as a local government chairman. In all my elections, it has never been easy. In 2015, they said it would be difficult; I won. In 2019, the federal might and soldiers were against me, yet I won.
Anybody telling you today that people are fighting me in Rivers and that it will be difficult, brother, I have never had an election that has been easy, but this one will be the easiest election as far as I know. The factors are clear. What are you going to tell Rivers people now? What will you present to them that will make them believe that following you will be more beneficial than what they have today?”
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