Abuja — Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike has revealed that all his children supported Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi during the 2023 general elections, attributing their choice to widespread concerns over the All Progressives Congress (APC) Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Wike made the disclosure on Monday during an appearance on TVC’s Journalists’ Hangout.
“In 2023, there was a problem with the Muslim-Muslim ticket. There was this campaign about Christianity. All my children supported Peter Obi. But now, they are saying that they never knew this man, Peter Obi, was like this,” Wike said.
He added that many Nigerians were “carried away” by the religious narrative at the time, but insisted the issue no longer holds weight. “There are a lot of people who were carried away, but that is no longer there now. Tinubu has been able to k!ll the Muslim-Muslim ticket problem,” the minister stated.
Wike, a former Rivers State governor who later joined the Tinubu administration as FCT minister in 2023, argued that the political dynamics that boosted Obi’s performance three years ago have fundamentally changed ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Obi, who finished third in the 2023 race behind President Bola Tinubu (APC) and Atiku Abubakar (PDP), is now the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). Wike dismissed his prospects for 2027, saying: “What people need now, Obi does not have it and he would never have it. So for 2027, leave it for Tinubu. Come back in 2031.”
The minister also revisited the role of the G5 governors (himself, Seyi Makinde, Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu) in the 2023 election. He explained that the group viewed Atiku as the bigger threat in the South-South due to the PDP’s traditional strength in the region and strategically allowed Labour Party votes to take hold in some areas instead.
“When you talk of South-South, I can tell you what happened. How did he (Obi) win? We, in the G5, had our strategy. We said, PDP is stronger in the South-South. And our problem would be Atiku. Therefore, instead of Atiku to take it, let it go to the Labour Party,” Wike said.
However, he noted that he personally ensured Obi did not win in Rivers State, where he was then governor, to avoid sending “a wrong signal.”
Wike’s comments come as political realignments intensify ahead of 2027, with the minister firmly backing President Tinubu’s re-election bid while continuing to critique opposition figures.
The revelation about his children’s 2023 preference has drawn attention given Wike’s own complex relationship with Obi during that election cycle, during which he provided some logistics support for Obi’s campaign in Rivers but ultimately aligned against both Obi and Atiku in favour of a southern presidency outcome.
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