&w=64&q=75)
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said election petitions are not won by postulations on social media but rather in court, with facts and evidence.
The minister said this in reaction to the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, which affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 election.
In a unanimous judgement by the five-member panel of justices led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, the court quashes all the petitions filed by the plaintiffs, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar; Peter Obi and the Labour Party; and Allied Peoples Movement (PDM).
Wike, a PDP chieftain, said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, September 7, 2023, commended the PEPC for affirming Tinubu's victory.
The former Rivers State Governor also revealed that he didn't support the PDP and Atiku 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.
The minister added that there was no need for the petitioners to appeal the judgment at the Supreme Court because the tribunal “affirmed” the will of Nigerians.