Sophia Michaels
Nyesom Wike and Peter Obi
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has taken a swipe at the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi for rejecting the verdict of the Election Petition Tribunal.
According to Wike, the judiciary was ‘right’ when Obi reclaimed his mandate as governor of Anambra State in 2007, but got it ‘wrong’ when he lost at the presidential Tribunal on Wednesday, September 6.
Wike, a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain, said this when he spoke on Channels TV on Thursday night, September 7.
“Did Peter Obi not win at the Supreme Court when he was removed as governor? Did he pay bribe? Let him tell the world now. When he was removed as a governor, did he not reclaim his mandate at the Supreme Court? Judiciary was right but now that the decision happened, judiciary is wrong.”
The Presidential Election Petitions Court had delivered a 12-hour marathon judgment on Wednesday, throwing out the petitions of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM); the petitions of the PDP and its flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar; as well as the petitions of LP and Obi.
The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani not only dismissed the consolidated petitions of the PDP, the APM, and the LP, but it also clearly affirmed the victory of Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, in the presidential poll.
Both Atiku and Obi have rejected the Tribunal’s verdict and vowed to seek redress at the Supreme Court.
Speaking on Channels Television’s programme on Thursday, Wike said he is a realist and he knew Obi won’t win the February 25, 2023 poll.
“I knew that he won’t win the election. Let me tell you the truth, I am a realist. For me, the way the election went, it was a tough election. I give it to INEC (the Independent National Electoral Commission),” he said
Wike said sentiments aside, Obi couldn’t have won the election.
“Yes, as a young man, people would have preferred that but look at how the votes went. There is this generational change, the young people were tired. So, for them, the only hope they had was to vote for Obi as a younger person compared to other candidates. But unknown to them, that is not the reality of Nigerian politics. They didn’t take into cognisance that ethnicity is a factor. They didn’t take into cognisance that religion is a factor, not only competence; that is the reality of Nigerian politics” he said.
Watch a video of him speaking below;
