When it was clear that Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki will not get a second term ticket in (his former party) the All Progressive Congress (APC) in June 2020 following his disqualification from the party's primaries, he rushed to meet with some of his colleagues on the platform of People's Democratic Party (PDP) for a possible move away from the APC, to join them.

Prominent among the PDP governors that Obaseki met was (former) Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, now minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Wike ochestrated Obaseki's defection to the PDP, which apparently led to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to postpone it Edo governorship primary election earlier scheduled for June 19 and June 20, 2020, to a new date of Tuesday, June 23, 2020 to make room for Obaseki to take part in the process that eventually produced him as the PDP flag bearer in the governorship election.

Wike was appointed by the PDP NWC to head the campaign council for the governorship election held on September 19, 2020.

Wike led the charge; worked effortlessly for his party man, Obaseki who needed him and the entire PDP structure at the time to stand a chance to continue for a second term.

Obaseki later went ahead to poll 307,955 votes to defeat his main rival, Osagie Ize-Iyamu of APC, who had 223,619 votes in the election and was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as Obaseki won in 13 of the 18 local government areas in the state.

In less than 72-hours after INEC returned him as winner of the 2020 governorship election, Obaseki led a thank-you visit to Wike at Government House in Port Harcourt, to commend the former Rivers governor for the role he played in his reelection.

Obaseki, who was accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki; Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, and his wife, Mrs. Maryann Shaibu, as well as some members of the defunct PDP Campaign Council, described Wike as a true brother, who sheltered him during a stormy period.

“I want to thank Edo people for their doggedness and determination in ensuring that their votes counted and the will of the people achieved.

“The victory in the September 19 poll was made possible by God and God used the people as an instrument to actualise my second term ambition.

“After I was pushed out of my former party, this house was the first place I sought solace. You took me in as a brother, out of the storm, changed my clothes, and gave me food to eat.

“It was in this house, the Campaign Council met to work out the key strategies that led us to victory. You mobilised people across the country. You moved to Benin, went through the humiliation and attacks. You supported us and we won.

“As the chair of the National campaign council, you applied yourself diligently to task. Indeed, you are a true brother.”

“It will be a sin against God if we do not come to say thank you. Even if the victory we are celebrating is from God. He has used people like you to make it happen."

In a twist of events in 2022, in the build up to 2023 general elections, Wike expressed regrets for the support he rendered for Obaseki's re-election over what he described as "betrayal" by Obaseki who had claimed the former governor handles PDP affairs as a personal property.

“It clearly amounts to a delusion of grandeur, for any one man to nurse the idea that he owns or has more stake in the PDP and everyone should pander to him,” Mr Obaseki said, adding “In Edo, we don’t accept political bullies and overlords.”

Fast forward to 2024, Edo PDP chairman, Tony Aziegbemi maintained that officials linked to Wike were in charge of the conduct of the state’s governorship election, adding, their presence could jeopardize the electoral process.

According to Aziegbemi, the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), previously served as Wike’s Special Adviser on Lands during his tenure as Rivers State Governor, and that the current Commissioner of Police, Nemi Edwin-Iwo was also Wike's close associate.

“We are worried that the election may have been compromised even before it starts. This is because we are certain that the officials responsible for conducting a free, fair, and credible election are close associates of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.

“The INEC REC in Edo is Wike’s cousin and served as a Special Adviser on Lands to him in Rivers State. Everyone in Nigeria knows the antecedents of Wike and his conduct during elections in Rivers State. So we will not close our eyes and watch him deploy the same tactic in Edo State.

“The current Edo State Commissioner of Police, Nemi Edwin-Iwo, is also a close associate of Wike. We believe he would not act in the best interest of Edo people nor even in the spirit and letters of the Electoral Act.”

This is coming even after Obaseki reportedly met with Wike to seek support for his anointed candidate, Asue Ighodalo in the same election Aziegbemi claimed would be compromise by officials alleged to be linked to the FCT minister. It further underscores the lack of consistency on the part of Òbaseki-led PDP that hitherto sing the praises of Wike following his contributions to the emergence of Obaseki as governor in 2020.

The FCT minister who turned down Obaseki's plea to back Ighodalo had maintained earlier in 2022 that the Edo governor refused to be grateful to the PDP and the people who supported him to be re-elected when he was forced out of the APC.

“If you check the DNA of Obaseki, what you will see in that DNA is betrayal, serial betrayal, and ungratefulness,” Wike said while addressing a crowd at the commissioning of a secondary school in Omuanwa community, Rivers State (March 2022)