The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has ridiculed supporters of the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, and of Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, saying that election petitions are not won on social media, News About Nigeria reports.
Wike, who reacted to the judgment delivered by the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, applauded the judges for upholding the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential polls.
According to him, election petitions are not like any other case before the court because they are ‘a special case and not propaganda’ which should be backed up by facts and evidence not what your supporters think.
The former Rivers state governor also stated that the judges led by Justice Haruna Tsammani were thorough in their ruling because he sat down for not less than 10 hours and saw how the justices painstakingly trashed each item one by one, from the preliminary objections to the motions, down to the objections on documents and exhibits, down to substantial issues.
Wike, while justifying the ruling of the PEPC, also stated that when Obi reclaimed his mandate as Anambra state governor, the judiciary was right, but wrong when the decision of the judiciary didn’t ‘favour’ him.
“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,” he stated.
He also revealed that he knew from the beginning that Obi would not win the election because of the factors involved in Nigerian politics.
“I know that he [Obi] won’t win the election. Let me tell you the truth, I am a realist. Yes, as a young man, people would have preferred that he won 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,” Wike added.
