Rocking the Boat

In 2013, five PDP governors defected to APC, giving APC an upper hand at the polls. Can the power play between the PDP and Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike, swing undecided voters in Nigeria’s fourth most populous state?

Written by San Agabi

Feb 21, 2023

Graphics by Onyinye Dike / THE REPUBLIC

Rivers State is Nigeria’s fourth most populous state, with 3.77 per cent (3,532,990 voters) of the 93 million total registered voters ahead of the 25 February polls, after Lagos at 7.57 per cent; Kano at 6.34 per cent; and Kaduna at 4.65 per cent. This makes it one of the determining states in Nigerian elections.

Swing states could potentially be won by either candidate, as such, presidential candidates focus their energy and resources in those states through the campaign period. Rivers has been instrumental in determining stakes at the elections, after giving former president Goodluck Jonathan and former vice president Atiku Abubakar—both under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) 1,487,075 and 473,971 votes in 2015 and 2019 respectively.

On 22 February, the campaign season for the 2023 political cycle would come to an end, in line with Independent National Electoral Commission’s calendar. The four major presidential candidates; Atiku Abubakar of PDP, Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peter Obi of the Labour Party, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), would have rallied across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, for followers’ support as they vie for the bulk of the 93 million eligible voters needed to see them into power.

However, power plays between politicians across—and even within party lines can influence the stakes at the poll. A player whose actions could contribute to swinging the pendulum is the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike—famed for his theatrics, but no lightweight when it comes to politics.

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About the Author

San Agabi

is a political analyst. In 2016, he was shortlisted for the Etisalat prize for flash fiction for his story, Fighting for Survival. Agabi writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

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Rocking the Boat