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Governor of River State, Nyesom Wike, has denied suing the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, over the outcome of the presidential primary.
Wike, who spoke at the inauguration of House of Assembly Quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital, noted that he was busy “delivering the dividends of democracy.”
In a broadcast shared by Channels TV on Friday, Wike noted that if he had a reason to go to court, he would have done so.
Wike said, “People have called me this morning that I went to court against Atiku Abubakar. I want to state categorically that if I have reason to go to court, I will go to court, but I didn’t go to court.
“I just want to say it for Nigerians to know. I have kept quiet. I am busy with delivering the dividends of democracy, for my party to win election in Rivers State.”
The PUNCH had earlier reported that Wike had sued Atiku; the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; and the PDP over the conduct of the presidential primary of the party that was held in Abuja on May 28 and May 29, 2022.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/782/2022, Wike and a PDP chieftain, Newgent Ekamon, are listed as the plaintiffs. In the originating summons, the PDP is listed as the first respondent, while the Independent National Electoral Commission is the 2nd respondent. Tambuwal and Atiku are listed as the 3rd and 4th respondents, respectively.
During the PDP presidential primary, when aspirants were asked to address delegates, Tambuwal had asked them to vote for him, only to return moments later to ask them to vote for Atiku.
At the primary, Atiku polled 371 votes while Wike and Bukola Saraki garnered 237 and 70 votes respectively. After the convention, the National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, described Tambuwal as the “hero of the convention.”
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.
However, speaking on Friday, Wike denied the suit, stating that if he had wanted to sue, he would have done that within two weeks after the primary.
Wike said, “If I were going to court, I would have gone to court within two weeks after the primary because it is a pre-election matter and after two weeks, you can’t go to court,” adding that he did not know the lawyers that were mentioned in the said suit.
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