Buhari’s Ex-Minister Says Tinubu, Atiku Bribed Delegates With Dollars At Presidential Primary 

The former Minister of State for Education is requesting that the ballots of former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominee Atiku Abubakar be canceled.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

Incorporated Trustees of Rights for All International and former presidential candidate Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba have filed a petition before a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking a declaration that Nwajiuba is the official presidential candidate for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The former Minister of State for Education, who received only one vote in the APC presidential primaries, is also requesting that the ballots of former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nominee Atiku Abubakar be canceled.

In the lawsuit with case number FHC/ABJ/CS/942/22, the APC, PDP, Tinubu, Atiku, Attorney-General of the Federation, and Independent National Electoral Commission are the first through sixth defendants.

Reasons

The plaintiffs claimed that Tinubu and Atiku bought votes from APC primary delegates with money. They also presented a video showing Rotimi Amaechi, a former minister of transportation, lamenting the sorrow of those APC primary delegates who sold their votes.

He said: “Those who voted at the APC primaries, who are they? They are ordinary Nigerians. The small money they got solved their immediate problem, now they are saying they made a mistake; you are now hearing different things.”

Nwajiuba and RAI offered 25 matters for the court’s consideration based on the evidence.

The ex-minister particularly sought the court to decide if the delegation’s makeup breached Articles 11(A), 12(1), and 13(1) of the APC constitution.

The former minister also asked the court to decide if the makeup of the delegates during the PDP primary violated Sections 33(1) and (5)(c) of the party’s constitution.

According to Nwajiuba, the APC and PDP votes are invalid, worthless, and of no consequence because of corruption, the buying and selling of delegates’ votes, and voter incentivization.