Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has sued the presidential flagbearer of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar; the Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; and the main opposition party, over the conduct of the presidential primary of the party that was held in May in Abuja.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that in the suit, Wike and a PDP chieftain, Newgent Ekamon, are listed as the complainants.
In the originating summons, the PDP is listed as the first respondent while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the second respondent. Tambuwal and Atiku are listed as the third and fourth respondents respectively.
This legal action comes as a reconciliation panel begins sitting to resolve a cold war between Messrs Abubakar and Wike over the outcome of the presidential primary and the selection of a running mate by Atiku. The former Vice-President had ignored Wike for Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta State.
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”, apparently because he dropped his ambition for Atiku, which was crucial to the Adamawa-born politician emerging winner.
In the originating summons, Wike and Ekamon 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 also asked the court to determine if Tambuwal lost his claim to votes the moment he stepped down for Atiku, and also, to determine whether Tambuwal “having stepped down during the primaries ought to lose his votes.”
