Wike on tribunal verdict: Election petitions aren’t won on social media

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says election petitions are not won on social media platforms.

Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on Thursday, Wike said the opposition parties “don’t have a case” against the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 election.

On Wednesday, the tribunal upheld the victory of Tinubu in the election.

The tribunal ruled that the petitions filed by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) were “all devoid of merit”.

Reacting to the tribunal’s verdict, the former Rivers governor commended the presidential election petition tribunal for “painstakingly” addressing issues raised in the petitions.

“I have always told people that election petition is not like any other case. It is a special area. It is not by propaganda,” he said.

“It is not won on social media. It is a presentation of evidence and facts. Not what you said to your supporters outside.

“I sat down for not less than 10 hours and to 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.”

Speaking further, the FCT minister said the February presidential election was “tough”, adding that Obi could not have won the election.

Asked to react to the claim that he has an influence on the judiciary, Wike said tongue-in-cheek that the judiciary was right when Obi reclaimed his mandate as Anambra governor in 2006.

“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,” he said.

“When he was removed as a governor, did he not reclaim his mandate at the supreme court? Judiciary was right but now that this (referring to the tribunal’s verdict) did not happen, judiciary is wrong.”

The former Rivers governor said he did not castigate the judiciary when he lost some of his cases in court.