Wike admits teaming up with APC to beat PDP in Edo governorship race

The Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has admitted that he worked with members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to defeat his own party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2024 Edo State governorship election. He said he has no regrets about his actions.

Wike explained that the alliance aimed to stop former Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo from choosing a successor. He recognized that the partnership between some PDP and APC members helped the ruling party win the election. Wike said, "I was behind it, and I don’t have any regrets about it."

According to The Punch, the minister spoke on Monday at a meeting for the Rainbow Coalition. This is a political group formed to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027. Wike's comments highlight his history of crossing party lines to affect election results. This includes his actions during the 2023 presidential election, where he and four other unhappy PDP governors did not back their party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

In September 2026, Wike talked about how the G-5 governors planned to limit Atiku's advantage from the PDP’s traditional strength in the South-south, especially in Edo and Cross River states. He said on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout that they viewed the PDP's power in the region as a possible benefit for Atiku. They aimed to shift votes to the Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi, in some states.

He explained, "How did he win? When the G-5, we sat, we had our strategy. We said in Edo, PDP is stronger in the South-south. Our problem will be Atiku. Therefore, instead of Atiku to take it, let it go to the Labour Party. That was our strategy. Cross River, the same thing. That’s what we did."

Wike also pointed out that Rivers State was treated differently because they worried about the impact of Obi winning there. He said, "It was only Rivers that said, ‘No, we have a problem here in Rivers. Obi will not win here because if he wins, he sends a signal somewhere, people may not understand it.’ And we stopped…we stopped it."

These statements provide a rare insight into the political strategy behind the G-5 governors' opposition to Atiku, despite being part of the PDP. The group included Wike, then Rivers governor; Seyi Makinde from Oyo State; Samuel Ortom from Benue State; Okezie Ikpeazu from Abia State; and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi from Enugu State.

The governors had pushed for the resignation of the PDP’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, complaining that both the party’s presidential candidate and national chairman should not come from the North after eight years of northern rule under President Muhammadu Buhari. Their conflict with PDP leadership continued into the 2023 general election. Wike asserted that his focus was on having a southern president, not just on winning for a specific candidate.

President Tinubu, the APC candidate, won the presidential election. Atiku came in second, while Obi was third nationally. In Rivers, where Wike was governor, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu the winner with 231,591 votes. Obi received 175,071 votes, and Atiku got 88,468 votes.

However, PREMIUM TIMES later found large discrepancies in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Wike’s stronghold. Their review suggested that Obi might have won the state, although missing and poorly uploaded results limited their findings. In March 2023, Wike denied telling Rivers residents to vote against Obi. He claimed he encouraged them to support national unity and criticized the PDP for not solving the problems that led to the election.

Edo governorship election

Wike’s latest comments are about the September 2024 Edo governorship election, which APC’s Monday Okpebholo won with 291,667 votes. The PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, got 247,274 votes, while Labour Party’s Olumide Akpata had 22,763 votes, according to INEC.

Wike stated that his opposition to Ighodalo was not about his qualifications. He simply wanted to stop Obaseki from keeping political power through his successor. He mentioned that Ighodalo visited him several times for support, but he turned him down.

Wike said, "He came to my house more than three times. I said, listen, you’re a good candidate. But for this election, I’m sorry."

He told Ighodalo that backing him would mean bringing Obaseki back indirectly. Wike said, "This election is between us and the man who is bringing you, Governor Obaseki, an ingrate person, ungrateful person. So returning you is like bringing him back. So I’m sorry. You have to fail. And he failed."

Wike concluded that political alliances across party lines are common in Nigerian elections. He said, "So when people say that nothing like coalition, they tell lies. The truth of the matter is that it has been there depending on how it is worked out."

He specifically praised the cooperation between PDP loyalists and APC members for Okpebholo’s win, saying that former APC national chairman Adams Oshiomhole could confirm the alliance.

2027: Realignment

Wike’s latest comments come amid political moves ahead of the 2027 general elections and disagreements within the APC regarding the Rainbow Coalition. Wike has been promoting this coalition as a way for politicians from different parties to support Tinubu’s re-election without leaving their own parties.

Even though he is part of the PDP, Wike is serving in Tinubu’s APC-led federal government. This has put him at odds with some of his party members, who are dealing with internal divisions and uncertainty about their direction.

At Monday’s meeting, Wike announced himself as the coordinator of Tinubu’s re-election campaign in the FCT and Rivers State. Participants from both PDP and APC reportedly agreed to work together for Tinubu’s second term and support APC candidates for the FCT senatorial and House of Representatives seats.

Wike’s recent statement shows he is open to forming electoral alliances across party lines, even if that means campaigning against candidates from the party he officially belongs to.