The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has commended the Presidential Election Petitions Court for affirming the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, presidential poll.
Wike, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), spoke exclusively to Newsmen on Thursday, a day after the marathon ruling of the court.
“Nigerians have spoken, (and) the court has affirmed it,” Wike said.
The former governor of Rivers State hailed the five-man panel of the Tribunal led by Justice Haruna Tsammani for painstakingly delivering its judgment.
Wike said, “I didn’t expect that the election would be overturned because the President won squarely.
“I am happy; it’s a moment of joy. I celebrate Mr President and I congratulate him and his Vice, Shettima for the victory.”
“I also commend the judiciary. For the first time as far as I am concerned, I have never seen what I saw yesterday (Wednesday).
“It opened the eyes of the public. I commend them. For sitting nothing less than 10 hours to deliver those judgments, you must have to commend them, painstakingly taking each time one by one. For me, it shows that our judiciary is improving,” the minister added.
He urged the petitioners — PDP’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar; and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi — to join hands with the Tinubu administration.
The Minister also said the judiciary was right when the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) reclaimed his mandate as governor of Anambra State in 2007 but the judiciary was wrong when he lost at the presidential Tribunal on Wednesday.
“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,” Wike said.
“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.”
Furthermore, Nyesom Wike, says election petitions are not won on social media but decided by facts and evidences.
The former governor of Rivers State commended the Presidential Election Petitions Court for affirming the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, presidential poll.
Wike said he did not support his party, the PDP and its flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar at the Tribunal “because I believe their position was wrong; I believe in equity, I believe in fairness, I believe in justice.”
“I have always told people that election petition is not like any other case; it’s a special area; it is not by propaganda, it is not won on social media, it is presentation of evidence, facts.
“I sat down for not less than 10 hours. Look at how the justices painstakingly took each item one by one, from the preliminary objections to the motions, down to the objections on documents and exhibits, down to substantial issues,” the minister said.
Wike, a member of the G5, an aggrieved group within the main opposition party, had publicly acknowledged that he supported Tinubu and worked against PDP’s Atiku in the last presidential poll.
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