Author: Naomitheboss

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has sued the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar; the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; and the PDP over the conduct of the presidential primary of the party that was held was 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.

The plaintiffs asked the court to determine if Tambuwal lost his claim to votes the moment he stepped down for Atiku.

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

Wike and Ekamon argued that should these issues be determined in their favour, the court should grant nine reliefs including a declaration 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.

They 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 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.

Wike and Ekamon asked the court to order INEC to reject or remove Atiku from “its list of candidates in the 2023 presidential election.”

They are also seeking an order commanding the PDP to recount the votes of the primary that was held on May 28 and May 29.

Lastly, the applicants are seeking 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) respodnent’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).

The PUNCH learnt that the court processes had been served on the PDP at its
Wadata Plaza headquarters located at Wuse Zone 5 while a copy had also been delivered to Atiku’s Campaign office in Maitama and the Sokoto State Government’s Liaison Office by the court bailiff.

Wike has been at loggerheads with Atiku and Tambuwal since his defeat in the presidential primary.

He had lambasted the PDP for allowing Tambuwal to canvass votes for Atiku after he had already been allowed to speak earlier at the convention.

“If I wanted to scuttle the convention, I could have done that and I told them… I have never seen how people can violate procedures and guidelines. Somebody had spoken. It is only at that point he was speaking that he could say I have withdrawn. You don’t call him back,” Wike had said.

After the primary, Atiku had been advised to pick Wike as his running mate. However, the former Vice-President decided to nominate Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate, a move that further deepened the crisis in the party.

Wike and his clique of governors have reportedly demanded the resignation of the PDP national chairman as a condition for them to campaign for Atiku. They argued that the all top positions in the party are being occupied by northerners and Ayu, who is from the North-Central must resign as a concession to the South.

However, Ayu has maintained that he would only resign after Atiku emerges the winner of the Presidential election next year.

When contacted on the telephone, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said he was unaware of the case and thus could not comment on it.
“I’m just hearing about this case from you. I have not seen the process and thus cannot comment on it,” he said.

Also, Atiku’s Spokesman, Paul Ibe, said his principal had not yet been served and thus could not comment on the matter.

“We are not aware of the case and have not been served. When we are served, we will respond appropriately. However, the response will be done in the proper manner and not through the media,” Ibe said.

Effort to reach Wike on his mobile telephone proved abortive, as it indicated that the calls were being forwarded, even as he had yet to respond to a text message sent to his mobile as of the time of filing this report on Thursday night.

Similarly, Mr. Kelvin Ebiri, Special Assistant on Media to the Governor could not be reached as his mobile phone was not connecting, even as he had yet to reply to a text and WhatsApp message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.

Some supporters of Peter Obi, under the platform of a group called Tag Team, have planned to hold a mega rally at the Lekki Toll Plaza on October 1st, 2022. However, some supporters of Bola Tinubu have also planned to hold a mega rally at the same Lekki Toll Plaza at the same time as the Peter Obi supporters.

Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has been appointed to head the APC Presidential Campaign in South East. This is as a result of his tenacity in ensuring that the party wins all the elective positions in the zone ahead of 2023 General Elections.

This development is as a result of the move by the ruling party to create Zonal Directorates for the six geopolitical zones. Each of these geopolitical zones is to be headed by a serving Governor as rectified by the National Working Committee(NWC) and approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Gov. Hope Uzodimma few weeks ago had assured South-east stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he and his fellow governors will ensure that peace and adequate security of lives and properties returns to the zone before the forthcoming general elections.

He went ahead to charge the reconciliation committee of the party to ensure that they bring everybody onboard while reminding party executives and faithful of their duties to man their polling units, wards and local government areas on election days and see that the party is voted for at all levels.

This appointment brings more responsibility and encouragement to Gov. Hope Uzodimma who has been vocal about his desire to see the entire South-east become an APC zone and will further work towards galvanizing votes for the APC and its Presidential Candidate in 2023.

With Gov. Hope Uzodimma in-charge of the South-east Zone Presidential Campaign, there is no doubt that the zone will unite to support and vote massively for the APC Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has all it takes to govern the country.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has told Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that if the All Progressives Congress (APC) had picked Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as its presidential candidate he would have declared support for the Vice President after he lost out in the PDP primaries.

A source close to the meeting which held at Namadi Sambo’s residence in Abuja told Chronicle NG that Wike gave Atiku some conditions, if they must work together and he made it clear that if Atiku doesn’t meet the conditions, he might be forced to work with Peter Obi.

The Rivers government however stressed that working for or with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is not an option.

The meeting was subsequently adjourned to allow Atiku go home to process the demands made by Wike before returning to the negotiation table.

According to the source, “The first thing Wike told Atiku is that he is lucky APC didn’t pick Osinbajo, otherwise he would have declared for Osinbajo and APC even if Osinbajo didn’t ask for it.”

“He said he cannot join Asiwaju Bola Tinubu because of the Muslim Muslim ticket,” the source said.

The source told Chronicle NG that Wike accused Atiku of undermining him for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who was the one who convened a meeting of all Southern Governors (APC and PDP) right in Delta State, where they all agreed power must return to South.

“It’s the same Okowa that Atiku picked as running mate and he didn’t remember they all agreed power must return to South,” the source said.

Wike then told Atiku he has some level of control over five PDP governors and that it would be the deciding factor for who will win 2023 between Tinubu and Atiku.

Wike told Atiku that he spent over 60 million dollars on Atiku between 2018 until very recently and that he didn’t deserve the treatment Atiku meted to him.

Wike said he would not have taken the VP slot, given his character and personality, but at least he should have been given the offer of first refusal.

Wike went on to hint on how prepared he is to attack and demolish the Muslim Muslim ticket of APC, adding that, he’s in possession of official and classified documents indicting Shettima over #ChibokGirls and his involvement with the Boko Haram sect, adding that, he was a Minister then and could account for what happened then.

According to the source, the meeting was a good meeting that has opened doors for further negotiation between the two leaders, as facilitated by Senator Bukola Saraki and others.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says it plans to challenge the results of the 16 July Osun governorship election at the election petition tribunal.

Gboyega Famodun, the state APC Chairman said this at a news conference on Thursday at the party secretariat, in Osogbo.

Mr Famodun said the decision followed assurances by the party lawyers who said that there were good grounds to challenge the results after they had studied them.

“We are going to the tribunal. Our lawyers had informed us that we have good reasons to challenge the results of the election at the tribunal,” he said.

He decried the suspected anti-party activities of an APC faction in the state”The Osun Progressive (TOP)”.

The Chairman said the TOP members worked for the opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to deny the APC victory at the election.