Wike Disowns Suit Against Atiku, Threatens Legal Action; Ayu Hails Him, Blames APC

By Uche Mbah

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has dissociated himself from the suit filed at an Abuja High Court asking that the Court declare him the authentic Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

News broke Thursday  evening, and went viral on Friday that Wike has jointly filed a suit with one Lawyer, Newgent Ekemon, seeking the nullification of Atiku’s Candidacy.

Joined in the purported suit were Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

But soon after the story went viral, Governor Wike said he does not even know the lawyers who filed the suit, and never approved of it. He apparently read it like everybody else.

According to the purported suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/782/2022, Wike and Ekamon claimed PDP gave undue advantage to Tambuwal’s withdrawal for Atiku which aided the laters emergence as the candidate of the PDP in the May 28 and 29 primary.

But Wike who spoke to ThisDay Friday, expressed surprise over the suit, describing it as the handiwork of mischief makers who acted with intent to use him to score cheap political goals.

“I don’t know the lawyers. Am I a kid to be filing a suit at this time? I had 14 days within which to file any suit. I didn’t, then is it two months after I will file a suit?

“Just a few days ago, they came up with the claim that I ordered my Chief Security Officer to pull down PDP’s flag in my office.

“This is all propaganda. Some people are trying to use me to win election.”

Wike then threatened to sue over the publication of the suit because he had nothing to do with it.

Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, in his reaction to the alleged suit, and Wike’s denial of any knowledge of it, hailed the Rivers State Governor as a strong Party man. He blamed the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the misinformation.

Ayu was quoted to have, allegedly, said: “Wike never took PDP to Court. It was sponsored by the APC. Wike knows that if he had to take the Party to Court over the Primaries, he had only 14 days window of opportunity to do so. Wike is a strong Party man and he has come out to deny that.”