Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has been cleared of complicity in a law suit allegedly filed against the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abukakar. Making the clarification in a statement on Friday, the National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorcha Ayu alleged that some faceless agents of the ruling All Progressives Congress ( APC), were behind it.
Ayu’s reaction is coming on the heels of a public declaration by Wike, disassociating himself from the law suit which he said was done by favour seekers.
Speaking on Friday, while playing host to the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who was in the state to Commission the Rivers State House of Assembly quarters in Port Harcourt, Wike accused some favour seekers who hang around Alhaji Atiku as the masterminds of such plots in their bid to tarnish his reputation.
He said: “People have called me throughout this morning (Friday) and said all kinds of things that I went to court against Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. I want to say categorically, if I have a reason of going to court, I will go to court, but I didn’t go to court.
“Yesterday (Thursday) too, they said I removed all PDP flags at Rivers State Government House. But I just have to say these things for Nigerians to know that I have kept quiet, and being busy delivering dividends of democracy for my party to win election in Rivers State.
“But I want to tell the candidate, it is the candidate’s group that are doing all these things. Let the world hear, they are the ones plotting all these things, thinking that they will spoil my name, you cannot.
“I didn’t go to court, I have no reason to go to court. But those of you who are plotting and saying that I went to court instead, for you to have come out now to say Wike went to court, I say shame on you. Shame will be on all of you.
“I have told the candidate, you will win or lose this election because of people around you. Anybody who knows me know too well that if I was going to court, I would have gone to court within two weeks after the primary because it is a pre-election matter and after two weeks, you can’t go to court.
“The legal adviser of the party called me and I told him that he knows that there is mischief going on. But that he knows me very well, if I’m going to court, it is not those kinds of lawyers that I would have used and I don’t even know the lawyers.”
Meanwhile, Ayu’s position was contained in a statement signed by his media aide, Simon Imobo–Tswam, to commemorate the International Youths Day.
The PDP Chairman accused the APC of using the governor’s name to institute what he referred to as a” bogus suit ‘ describing the action of the APC as desperate and criminal.
Ayu while hailing Governor Wike for coming out to dissociate himself from the suit said: “His Excellency, Governor Wike never took the party to court. It is the APC that did it. The first name in the case is a coordinator of the presidential candidate of the APC.
”We know very well that they don’t believe they can win any election. They have decided to divide you. But don’t allow any APC manipulation to divide you. They are the ones sponsoring false stories of the crisis in PDP. PDP has no crisis. It is a united party, ” He said.
On Thursday, a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 782/2022 was filled at the Abuja Court challenging the outcome of the PDP presidential primary.
The plaintiffs according to the court report are Governor Wike and one Newgent Ekamon while listed as respondents are the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Tambuwal, and the PDP.
