The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said he refused to support Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the 2024 Edo governorship election, because he did not want former governor Godwin Obaseki to choose his successor.
Wike made the disclosure on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting of the rainbow coalition in Abuja, where he said an alliance between factions of the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) contributed to the ruling party’s victory.
APC candidate Monday Okpebholo defeated Ighodalo, who had Obaseki’s backing, in the September 2024 governorship election.
Wike, a PDP member serving in President Bola Tinubu’s administration, said the outcome of the election demonstrated the influence political coalitions could have on electoral results.
“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,” he said.
“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 coalition, they tell lies.”
The FCT minister said Okpebholo and Adams Oshiomhole, a former Edo governor and senator representing Edo North, could confirm the coalition’s role in the election.
He added that he withheld his support for Ighodalo, whom he described as a good candidate, because he did not want Obaseki to maintain his political influence through a successor.
“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 to defeat the PDP, even though I’m a member of 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, ungrateful person, so returning you is like bringing him back, so I’m sorry. You have to fail,’ and he failed.”
Wike’s comments come amid growing debate over the rainbow coalition, which has attracted considerable political attention in recent weeks.
In January, the minister said the coalition represented a shift from conventional party politics towards a collective political movement focused on advancing the interests of the state.
However, the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) said it would not support any alliance or political arrangement that could undermine Tinubu’s re-election bid or the chances of APC candidates in the 2027 elections.