“I Won In Rivers, And Wike Fought Me, Worked Against Me – Peter Obi

By Charles Igbo

The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has put a lie to Governor Nyesom Wike’s declaration of him, Obi, as his hero.

Wike had, while addressing the Igbo Community, in bid to attract votes to his Governorship Candidate, Sim Fubara, PDP, declared Obi as his hero in the much worldwide condemned  Presidential election of 25th February, 2023. He said but for Obi, Atiku Abubakar, Presidential Candidate of his estranged Party, PDP, could have won the Presidential Election. “As far as I am concerned”, Wike claimed, “Obi is  the hero, he is my hero, he won this election by stopping Atiku from winning and so made it possible for power to return to the South.”

Since Wike’s declaration, not a few angry Nigerians have called him a hypocrite, and asked him to shut up and bury his face in shame.

They insist that it was Wike who, allegedly, brazenly robbed Obi of victory, by allegedly upturning the people’s will in the Rivers State where Obi had clearly won, in favour of Wike’s preferred candidate, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, now the President-elect.

They accused Wike of threatening and intimidating voters and INEC officials, and of publicly, using thugs and fake “security personnel” to snatch ballot boxes and manipulate the figures.

On Monday during an interview on ARISE TV, Obi weighed in on Wike’s role in Rivers State during the Presidential Election.

He disclosed that Wike fought him and came out against him. Obi, also, revealed that but for the manipulations, he won Rivers State by over 50 per cent, and left the PDP and APC to fight over the remaining percentage of votes.

Defending his stellar performance in the election, even with alleged unprecedented rigging and manipulation and violence, Obi said: “In Rivers where you know that the Governor came out against me and  everything,  if the real votes of Rivers were counted, I won. I had over 50 something per cent of the votes.  The other two parties were sharing the others (remaining votes).”

Rivers State is one of the States where the conduct and result of the Presidential election have been  severely criticised as very much below standard.

Violence, snatching of ballot boxes, manipulation of the results, took place, especially, in areas considered to be populated by Igbo speaking people, including, Wike’s Ikwerre and Porthacourt City Local Government Areas.