Wike Admits Costly Mistake in PDP Presidential Primary, Alleges Rigging and Backroom Deals

Wike has admitted costly mistake in PDP Presidential Primary and alleged rigging and backroom deals.

 

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has openly admitted that a strategic blunder cost him the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket in 2022, while also accusing top party figures of manipulating the process.

Wike, who came second in the primaries behind former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, disclosed during an interview on Channels Television on Thursday that critical decisions were taken at the residence of retired General Ali Gusau before the primaries decisions that, according to him, tilted the odds against his candidacy.

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“The mistake I made was allowing my supporters in Kano and Katsina to wear our uniform,” Wike lamented, stressing that the miscalculation undermined his momentum and exposed his camp’s strategy.

The former Rivers State governor further alleged that the primaries were marred by manipulation. He accused former Senate President David Mark of leveraging his “military coup experience” to rig the election process. Wike also claimed that former Sokoto governor, Aminu Tambuwal, was strategically induced to step down after being promised the Senate presidency.

“I was going to win the 2022 PDP presidential primaries, but it turned out they were meeting in General Ali Gusau’s house. They told Saraki and Bala Mohammed to withdraw; they refused. Tambuwal was promised Senate presidency, and David Mark used his coup experience to rig the process,” Wike asserted.

Wike’s revelations have reignited debate about the transparency of PDP’s internal democracy and laid bare the intense power struggles that shaped the 2022 contest.