Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that all his children supported Peter Obi during the 2023 presidential election.
Wike made the disclosure on Monday during an interview with TVC News, while discussing the political dynamics surrounding the 2023 election and the 2027 presidential contest.
The former Rivers State governor attributed his children’s support for Obi to the controversy surrounding the All Progressives Congress (APC) Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket during the 2023 election, The News Edition reports.
According to Wike, concerns over the same-faith ticket and related religious issues influenced some voters at the time.
“In 2023, there was a problem with the Muslim-Muslim ticket. There was this campaign about Christianity,” Wike said.
He added that his children supported Obi during the election but suggested that their view of the former Anambra State governor had since changed.
“All my children supported Peter Obi. But now, they are saying that they never knew this man, Peter Obi, was like this,” he said.
Wike further claimed that the controversy surrounding the Muslim-Muslim ticket had lost some of its political impact, arguing that President Bola Tinubu’s administration had addressed the concerns associated with the issue.
“There are a lot of people who were carried away, but that is no longer there now. Tinubu has been able to kill the Muslim-Muslim ticket problem,” he said.
Obi, who contested the 2023 presidential election on the Labour Party platform, is now the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election.
Wike also said he did not believe Obi could win the 2027 presidential election, although that remains a political assertion rather than an established electoral outcome. Recent reports show Wike has also questioned Obi’s current level of support in parts of southern Nigeria.