VERDICT: Largely true

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Governor Wike made the claim on Tuesday, at the inauguration of the Etche Campus of the Rivers State University in Abara community of Etche Local Government Area.

He boasted that his state had given the PDP more votes than any other states in all presidential elections since 1999.

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His words, “At the appropriate time, we will decide on what to do. I want Rivers people to reflect on this because, since 1999, we have brought the highest votes to the Peoples Democratic Party.

“I challenge any state to say they have brought more votes for the PDP. Which state has given more support than Rivers State? Since 1999, show me one federal project in Rivers State. Is there any?

‘’So, if you want our votes, then tell me what you will give Rivers people. Our votes are not for dash anymore.”

He recalled how, during the 2019 federal elections, some of his colleagues bargained and handed their votes to President Muhammadu Buhari, but only Rivers State resisted by casting all of its ballots for the PDP.

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He added, “This (federal) government fought us but we survived it. Most of them who are talking now, if this Federal Government had descended on them, most of them would have crumbled”.

VERIFICATION

Wike’s statement could be interpreted in two slightly different ways. Either, he meant that Rivers gave the PDP its highest number of votes per state in each election since 1999, or Rivers contributed the highest in the total number of votes scored by the party in all presidential elections from 1999 to 2019.

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Going by the first interpretation, Wike’s claim is only to an extent true. Rivers indeed gave the PDP its highest votes in all presidential elections since 1999, except in 2019. So, PDP’s highest votes in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015, came from Rivers state, but its highest votes in 2019 came from Kaduna state, even though the All Progressive Congress won the Northwestern state.

The second interpretation is absolutely true. By summing the number of votes scored by the PDP in all presidential elections from 1999 to 2019, in each state, no other state has given the party more votes than Rivers.

Rivers votes contribution to PDP in Figures

1999 – PDP had its best outing in Rivers State. It got 1,352,275 votes in the state, which accounted for 86.4% of the total votes in the state. The party got its second highest in Kaduna where it got 1,294,679 which was 77.2% of the total votes from the state.

2003 – PDP got its highest votes from Rivers state again. Olusegun OBASANJO, going for a second term got 2,003,521 (92.7%) votes from the state.

2011 – The party got 1,817,762 votes in Rivers, the highest compared to all other states.

2015 – Jonathan also got his highest votes from Rivers State, with 1,487,075 votes, 94.99% of the total number of votes cast in the state.

2019 – Its outing in Rivers was poor in 2019. It got 473,971 votes lesser than it polled in Kaduna, Plateau, Delta, and Anambra states. PDP’s highest votes in 2019 were from Kaduna State where it polled 649,612, although APC won the state.

CONCLUSION: Governor Wike’s claim that Rivers State has given more votes to the PDP than any other states is largely true.

(Ripples)