Wike: Count me out of suit challenging Atiku’s candidature

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has denied filing a suit for the removal of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, ahead of the 2023 general election.

Reports emerged in the early hours of Friday that Governor Wike filed a suit before the court over manipulation of the party’s presidential primary election.

Other respondents in the suit are the PDP, the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Wike and a PDP chieftain, Newgent Ekamon, as plaintiffs, prayed the court to recognise the governor as the rightful candidate of the PDP because of Tambuwal’s withdrawal while voting had commenced.

In the originating summons, Wike and his co-applicant asked the court to determine eight issues including whether the purported transfer of Tambuwal’s votes to Atiku by the PDP was illegal and void.

They want the court to determine whether Tambuwal “having stepped down during the primaries ought to lose his votes.”

It would be recalled that during the PDP presidential primary, Tambuwal stepped down for Atiku, urging his supporters to vote for the former Vice-President.

Atiku won the primaries with 371 votes, while Wike and former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, garnered 237 and 70 votes, respectively.

Reacting to the development, Wike, in an interview with THISDAY on Friday, said he was not aware of the purported suit, adding that he did not know the lawyers who filed the suit.

He said: “I don’t know anything about the so called suit. I did not ask anyone to file any suit for me

“I don’t know the lawyers. Am I a kid to be filing a suit at this time. I had 14 days after the primary within which to have filed any suit. I didn’t do that then, is it two months after primary I will file a suit?”

The governor further described as “false”, the reports making the rounds that he ordered his Chief Security Officer to pull down PDP flag in Rivers State Government House.

“Just yesterday they came up with the claim that I ordered my Chief Security Officer to pull down PDP flag in Government House. This is all false, it’s all propaganda. Some people are trying to use me to win the election. Please disregard all these lies,” Governor Wike said.

The Star