TheCable Fact Check
  • Home
  • Fact Check
  • Fake News
  • Check Am For Wazobia
Reading: FACT CHECK: Wike erred. Peter Obi conducted LG election as Anambra governor
Share
Latest News
Video wey show as ‘bridge collapse for Nasarawa’ na AI
AI ni wọ́n fi se fídíò afárá ti wọ́n ní ó wó ní Nasarawa
Íhé ńgósị́ ébé àkwà ḿmíri nà-ádà bụ̀ ǹkè é jìrì AI wòghárị́á
Bidiyon da ke nuna ‘gada ta rushe a Nasarawa’ AI ce ta samar
FACT CHECK: No, Nwifuru didn’t suspend officials for failing to attend child’s birthday party
FACT CHECK: Video showing ‘bridge collapsing in Nasarawa’ is AI-generated
MISINFO ALERT: Viral video of ‘foreign arms dealer’ in Zamfara is from 2021, says army
Ókwú Badenoch nà ụ́mụ̀ yá ápụ̀ghị̀ ínwétá íkíké ị́bụ ńdị́ Naijiria bụ̀ àsị́
Advertisement
Aa
TheCable Fact CheckTheCable Fact Check
Search
  • Home
  • Fact Check
  • Fake News
  • Check Am For Wazobia
Follow US

FACT CHECK: Wike erred. Peter Obi conducted LG election as Anambra governor

Janefrances Chibundu
By Janefrances Chibundu Published July 9, 2025 3 Min Read
Share

Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, never conducted LG elections during his tenure as governor.

Wike spoke in Abuja on Sunday at St. James Anglican Church in Asokoro during a thanksgiving service held for the “successful completion of inaugurated projects” in the FCT.

The minister appeared to be taking a jab at opposition figures, accusing them of self-interest.

“You said Peter Obi will be president. President where? Some of you support people you don’t know, just out of emotion,” Wike said.

“He was governor for eight years. He never conducted local government elections — never. Nigerians weren’t angry. Nigerians were happy that he refused to conduct local government elections. Eight good years, he was governor. And you call that democracy? Only one man was governor of the whole state and all the local governments.”

Wike’s comments came days after opposition parties adopted the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a coalition platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

His remarks reignited debate over whether Peter Obi conducted local government elections during his tenure as governor of Anambra.

BACKGROUND 

Before the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on local government autonomy in July 2024, state governors had sweeping control over local councils.

It was common practice for state governments to withhold LG funds and install caretaker committees instead of holding elections.

The apex court has since ruled that allocations from the federation account must be paid directly to local governments, bypassing the states in a bid to strengthen democratic governance at the grassroots.

Peter Obi served as governor of Anambra from March 2006 to March 2014, with interruptions due to court rulings and impeachment.

VERIFYING THE CLAIM

CableCheck found that on January 11, 2014, just two months before the end of Peter Obi’s tenure, local government elections were conducted across all 21 LGAs in Anambra.

This marked the first local government election in the state since 1998, breaking a 16-year cycle of caretaker administrations.

At the time, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the ruling party in the state, won 20 out of 21 local government chairmanship seats and 304 of the 326 (327) councillorship positions.

On January 13, 2014, three days after the elections, Obi swore in the newly elected council chairpersons and urged them to work with Willie Obiano, then governor-elect of the state.

CableCheck also found that the claim had previously been fact-checked after Reno Omokri, a former presidential aide, made a similar assertion on July 12, 2024.

VERDICT

The claim that Peter Obi never conducted local government elections in Anambra is false.

TAGGED: Anambra state, Nyesom Wike, peter obi

Please send your feedback, claims to fact check and corrections requests to [email protected]

Janefrances Chibundu July 9, 2025 July 9, 2025
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Copy Link Print

POPULAR POSTS

Advertisement

Video wey show as ‘bridge collapse for Nasarawa’ na AI

One video wey show as bridge dey collapse dey waka for social media, especially Facebook.…

July 29, 2025

AI ni wọ́n fi se fídíò afárá ti wọ́n ní ó wó ní Nasarawa

Àwọn ènìyàn ti ń pín fídíò kan tí ó ṣe àfihàn afárá tí ó wó…

July 29, 2025

Íhé ńgósị́ ébé àkwà ḿmíri nà-ádà bụ̀ ǹkè é jìrì AI wòghárị́á

Ótù ihe ngosị na-agbasa na sosha midia, ma na-egosị ebe àkwà mmịrị na-ada. A kọwara…

July 29, 2025

Bidiyon da ke nuna ‘gada ta rushe a Nasarawa’ AI ce ta samar

Bidiyon da ke nuna yadda wata gada ta ruguje ta ke yawo a shafukan sada…

July 29, 2025
Advertisement
Advertisement

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

FACT CHECK: No, Nwifuru didn’t suspend officials for failing to attend child’s birthday party

A social media post claims that Francis Nwifuru, governor of Ebonyi, suspended 25 commissioners and other appointees for failing to…

Fact Check
July 29, 2025

FACT CHECK: Video showing ‘bridge collapsing in Nasarawa’ is AI-generated

A video showing a bridge collapse incident is circulating across social media platforms, especially on Facebook. In the five-second video,…

Fact Check
July 24, 2025

MISINFO ALERT: Viral video of ‘foreign arms dealer’ in Zamfara is from 2021, says army

The Nigerian Army says a viral video claiming the arrest of a foreign arms dealer in Zamfara is misleading and…

Exclusives & FeaturesFact Check
July 24, 2025

FACT CHECK: Kemi Badenoch’s claim that her children can’t get Nigerian citizenship is false

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has claimed that she cannot pass her right of Nigerian citizenship…

Fact CheckTop Stories
July 21, 2025

CableCheck seeks to provide reliable tools and resources for readers to tackle the menace of fake and misleading materials constantly pushed into the public space from various sources. We monitor the accuracy of claims made in traditional and social media. We also provide a tracker to hold politicians and policymakers accountable for the plans and promises they make to the public. CableCheck is a project of the Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF), supported by the MacArthur Foundation and implemented by TheCable newspaper.

Follow US: 

LINKS

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Non-Partisanship Policy
  • Funding
  • Correction Policy
© Copyright TheCable. All Rights reserved.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?