battleground states

Nigeria 2023: Rivers State, fief of spoiler-in-chief Nyesom Wike

In depth

This article is part of the dossier: Nigeria 2023: The battleground states

By Eniola Akinkuotu
Posted on Wednesday, 25 January 2023 14:45

Rivers State - cash rich with oil money, and a key vote bank for the opposition PDP - is led by Governor Nyesom Wike, a member of the said party. The only problem? A jilted Wike, who saw himself as the PDP presidential candidate, is not playing ball. Part one of our Battleground States series.

This is part 2 of a 9-part series

Historically, Rivers State, which holds 4.65% of the total number of voters, is always volatile during elections.

In 2015, the media dubbed the state ‘Rivers of blood’ because of the violence. The situation worsened in 2019 with at least 10 killed, including electoral officials and security agents.

.no-script-hidden { display: none }

Your browser could not fetch this story

If you are reading this message your browser has Javascript disabled. Please enable Javascript in order to access to this story.

fluidity and unpredictabile

Nigeria 2023: Where will the battle be won and lost?

About 93.4 million Nigerian voters scattered across the 36 states and the nation’s capital will next month elect a new president. However, each state has its own peculiarity and voting patterns that can shape the overall outcome of a poll. Read on for our 8-part series on the key swing states, and the political personalities who define them.

battleground states

Nigeria 2023: Obi and Atiku push to turn Lagos into swing state

Lagos represents the largest state in terms of votes... but historically has the lowest turnout. That is set to change as determined supporters of Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar work to build their ground game. Will Lagos Godfather Bola Tinubu weather the storm? And will the PDP's national crisis be replicated in Lagos? Part two in our series of battleground states in Nigeria.

northern promise

Nigeria 2023: Kano State remains the key to unlock the north

The commercial capital of Northern Nigeria is central to winning elections in the country. It has the second largest number of registered voters after Lagos, at 5.9 million. However, unlike Lagos, turnout is higher, and Kano regularly produces the highest number of votes in elections.

turning tables?

Nigeria 2023: Will Osun State swing to APC in the presidential election?

With a recent legal victory, the ruling APC have clawed their way back into contention in Osun State. The PDP took the state in the gubernatorial contest of July 2022, and has been trying to weaken APC influence.

awkward situation

Nigeria 2023: Which way will Seyi Makinde jump in Oyo State?

Who will win in Oyo State? Normally, the state would be a walk in the park for the opposition PDP, with a star governor, Seyi Makinde, in charge. However - in what may be similar to Rivers State - an opposition rift looks to be gifting the vote bloc to the ruling APC...

battleground

Nigeria 2023: Can the PDP hold on to Oyo State?

The PDP has been winning Presidential elections in Edo State since 1999. However, the party’s margin of victory has continued to reduce in successive elections.