The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has given his reasons as to why he did not support Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, during the 2023 general elections.
In a press briefing on Friday in Abuja, Wike admitted he did not believe Obi had a realistic chance of winning the presidential contest.
He described him as a “social media candidate.”
“No, he has no chance to win election,” Wike said. “I don’t go to where you see people like this kind of social media candidates. I don’t do social media candidate.”
Wike, a former governor of Rivers State, emphasised that as a politician, he focuses on analysing candidates with the capacity to win, rather than those perceived to be popular online.
“I said I see that as a politician, and I analyse the candidate who is likely to win,” he said.
According to Wike, winning elections in Nigeria involves more than just being the most qualified or popular on social media platforms.
“In politics, it’s not always the right that oh, this is the best candidate. No, no, no,” he said. “You see Nigerians today, in politics, so many factors come in.”