Wike denies having anything to do with the latest lawsuit challenging Atiku's candidacy

GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has distanced himself from a lawsuit filed in his name that is challenging the election of former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

This morning, a lawsuit was filed in Abuja against the PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, the party and Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State over the outcome of the May 29 primary elections. During the elections held in Abuja, Governor Tambuwal asked delegates to vote for him but later declared that he stepped down for the former vice president Atiku.

Governor Wike and his loyalists have been on a collision course with the Atiku camp since the conclusion of the primaries, especially after he failed to get picked as the party's presidential running mate. So this morning, when a lawsuit was filed seeking the removal of Atiku Abubakar, it was thought to come through him.

Aside from denying knowledge of anything whatsoever regarding the purported suit, the governor stated that he did not even know the lawyers who filed the suit in the first instance. Apparently, Governor Wike and one PDP chieftain Newgent Ekamon, had dragged the party to court seeking the removal of Atiku as PDP candidate in next year’s presidential polls.

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

In the suit, the plaintiffs claimed that the PDP primary conferred undue advantage on Atiku which aided his emergence as the party's candidate. However, Governor Wike described the suit as the handiwork of mischief makers who merely want to use him to score cheap political goals.

He added: “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?

"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.”

In the originating summons, the PDP is listed as the first respondent, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) is the second respondent, with Governor Tambuwal and Alhaji Abubakar listed as the third and fourth respondents, respectively. Among other issues listed, in the suit, Governor Wike and Mr Ekamon asked the court to order the Inec to reject or remove Atiku Abubakar from its list of candidates in the 2023 presidential elections.