FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has claimed that he and other politicians conspired to ensure that “a very good candidate” did not win the 2024 governorship election in Edo State because they did not want the incumbent, Godwin Obaseki, to select his successor.
The September 2024 election was marred by electoral violence and results manipulation.
FIJ spent some weeks in the state gathering evidence, interacting with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) results portal and certified true copies, and gathering data to establish how the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), and other parties rigged the election at various levels.
That investigative report established that the victory of Monday Okpebholo was premised on questionable results tallies across local government areas.
On Monday, speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting of a rainbow coalition in Abuja, Wike said that although he is a member of the PDP, the coalition helped the APC defeat the PDP and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo.
READ MORE: INVESTIGATION: How Edo Gov Election Was Rigged for APC by Design
He said, “In the last election that took place in Edo State, the victory was as a result of the coalition between the legacy of PDP and the APC.
“We had to work together to make sure that the former governor, Governor Obaseki, did not produce his successor. And that is the truth. I was behind it, and I don’t have any regrets about it. So when people say that, nothing like a coalition, they tell lies.”
During his speech, he mentioned that Senator Adams Oshiomhole and Okpebholo could both confirm his statements.
“The truth of the matter is that it has been there, depending on how it is worked out. So the governor today, Senator Okpebholo, will know sincerely that it was that coalition,” he said.
“Senator Adams Oshiomhole will also attest to the fact that it was that coalition that made us defeat the PDP, even though I’m a member of the PDP, but for that purpose I said I would not support the incumbent governor to produce a successor, even though the candidate was a very good candidate, who was the former managing director of a bank.
“He came to my house more than three times. I said, ‘Listen, you’re a good candidate, but for this election, I’m sorry, because this election is between us and the man who is bringing you, called Obaseki, an ungrateful person, so returning you is like bringing him back, so I’m sorry. You have to fail’, and he failed.”
The post I Was Behind It… I Ensured ‘Good Candidate’ Failed in Edo Election, Says Wike appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.
