I didn’t file any suit against Atiku ― Wike

Published by

3 years ago

Wike

Governor Nysome Wike of Rivers State has denied filing any suit challenging the emergence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on May 28 and May 29, 2022, primary elections conducted by the party.

Wike’s denial followed a purported suit numbered, FHC/ABJ/CS/782/2022 said to have been filed before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja by the governor and a PDP chieftain, Newgent Ekamon challenging the outcome of the primaries that produced Atiku.

The originating summons, which has the PDP as the first respondent while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the 2nd respondent also has Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state and Atiku as the 3rd and 4th respondents respectively.

In the court documents, 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.

The plaintiffs asked the court to determine if Tambuwal lost his claim to votes the moment he stepped down for Atiku and that, the court should determine whether Tambuwal, “having stepped down during the primaries ought to lose his votes.”

But, Wike, denied knowledge of the purported suit and that, he did not authorise anybody to file any suit for him, adding that, he couldn’t file any suit now, when he ought to have done that, two weeks after the conduct of the primary elections.

Wike and Ekamon were said to have prayed the court to grant all the issues raised in their favour and to declare that the purported transfer of Tambuwal’s votes to Atiku be declared null and void.

The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that the PDP acted negligently and in bad faith by assigning the Sokoto governor’s votes to Atiku at the primary election and therefore prayed the court to “cancel the transfer of votes and a corresponding order restraining the 3rd respondent (Tambuwal’s) withdrawal in the primary was done after voting had commenced.”

The applicants were said to have also prayed the court to declare that the PDP and Atiku took undue advantage of Tambuwal’s withdrawal when they allowed the Sokoto governor to persuade delegates to vote for the former Vice-President in the primary and that the court should order INEC to reject or remove Atiku from “its list of candidates in the 2023 presidential election.”

The applicants, according to the suit want an order of the court “directing the 1st respondent (PDP) to declare the 2nd applicant (Wike), a presidential aspirant in the May 28 and May 29 primary as the winner of the aforesaid primary with a corresponding order directing the 1st respondent (PDP) to forward his name as the candidate to contest the presidential election in 2023.”

In a supporting affidavit he deposed to, Ekamon noted that he was a member of the PDP and attested to the fact that Wike won the presidential election.

He maintained that Tambuwal withdrew from the contest after voting had commenced and directed that his votes be assigned to Atiku.

“The third respondent (Tambuwal) speaking twice before stepping down from the contest, persuaded all his delegates who were going to vote for him to vote for the 4th respondent (Atiku).

“The 1st (PDP) and 4th (Atiku) respondents who also wanted the votes desperately agreed with the 3rd (Tambuwal) and assigned 3rd (Tambuwal) respondent’s votes to the 4th (Atiku) respondent and increased his votes to win the 2nd applicant (Wike).

“The 2nd applicant (Wike) won the primaries if the votes of the 3rd respondent (Tambuwal) had not been transferred or assigned to the 4th respondent (Atiku).”

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE