Nigerians made Tinubu president, not Wike — Oduduwa group

The Oduduwa Development Congress (ODC) has disputed claims by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr Nyesom Wike, that he played a significant role in bringing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to power.

The group said Wike’s claim is merely a product of his imagination.

ODC emphasised that Nigerians, not Wike, made Asiwaju Bola Tinubu their President, and his victory was a reflection of the will of the people.

Addressing a press conference in Lagos on Monday, the president of the group, Oluwasanmi Sola stated that the FCT Minister should be grateful to President Tinubu for considering him to be part of his cabinet.

The statement reads in parts: “The Oduduwa Development Congress wishes to set the record straight that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, did not singlehandedly make Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu the President of Nigeria.

“It’s important to note that the results of the 2023 presidential election, as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), showed that Nigerians elected Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as their President, not Wike.

“Tinubu received a total of 8,794,726 votes, the highest of all candidates, meeting the first constitutional requirement to be declared the winner. He also received over 25% of the votes cast in 30 states, exceeding the 24 states required by the constitution.

“Local and international observers confirmed that his victory reflected the will of the people, and the Supreme Court upheld the outcome.

“Therefore, Wike’s claim of singlehandedly bringing President Tinubu to power is false and misleading. How could he when he couldn’t secure ordinary ticket of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for himself?

“In President Tinubu’s election victory acceptance speech, he recognised and thanked those who worked hard to secure the victory. However, he did not mention the name of Nyesom Wike. This suggests that the FCT Minister’s claim of playing a significant role in the President’s electoral success is merely a product of his imagination. The former Rivers State governor owes Nigerians an apology for attempting to take credit for our collective mandate.“