Tinubu Campaign: Atiku’s Camp Backs Court Action Against Wike, Adeleke, Soludo

Paul Ibe, a media adviser to the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has thrown his weight behind moves to challenge the inclusion of Nyesom Wike, Gov. Ademola Adeleke and Gov. Charles Soludo in President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign council.

Ibe supported calls for members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Accord Party to approach the courts to determine whether the three politicians could serve in the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign council without authorisation from their respective parties.

Taking to his X handle on Friday, Ibe endorsed the proposed legal action, writing, “That is the way to go.”

He argued that the courts should determine whether politicians could support the electoral ambitions of rival parties without violating the constitutions of their respective political parties.

“No politician, however powerful, should enjoy immunity from obligations that remain binding on ordinary party members,” he said.

Ibe challenged the PDP to explain the constitutional basis for Wike’s participation in Tinubu’s campaign council.
He also asked the Accord Party to clarify the circumstances surrounding Adeleke’s appointment, particularly in view of its own presidential candidacy.

Similarly, he called on the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to explain the authority under which Soludo was participating in the APC campaign council.

Politics Nigeria reports that the development comes amid criticism from the ADC Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC), which accused the ruling party of undermining multiparty democracy through the inclusion of opposition governors and political figures in Tinubu’s re-election campaign.

ADC-PCC Director of Media and Publicity, Kola Ologbondiyan, made the allegation while reacting to the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja on Wednesday.

Ologbondiyan described the development as an attempt to establish a one-party system, alleging that the APC was using its influence to bring opposition figures into its campaign structure without requiring them to formally defect to the ruling party.

“What we are witnessing is not politics but political abduction. You cannot claim to be a democrat while using state power to force opposition governors into your party and then drafting them into your campaign council. This is political banditry,” he said.

He further accused the ruling party of pursuing an agenda that could concentrate political power in the hands of one individual. He alleged that national institutions, security agencies and the judiciary were being deployed to weaken opposition parties.

The ADC-PCC spokesman also criticised the government over the economic hardship, hunger and insecurity facing Nigerians, accusing political leaders of prioritising the retention of power over citizens’ welfare.

“These particular sets of leaders don’t care about the current conditions of the people but how best to remain in power at a time when average Nigerians find it difficult to eat and be secure,” Ologbondiyan said.

He urged Nigerians, media organisations, civil society groups and the international community to oppose what he described as an anti-democratic agenda.

Ologbondiyan also alleged that opposition figures were being harassed, dissenting voices suppressed and democratic institutions weakened for partisan interests.

He maintained that the ADC’s presidential ticket, comprising former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, had the experience and political credentials to address the country’s challenges.

Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), belongs to the PDP, while Soludo is a member of APGA and Adeleke belongs to the Accord Party.

The three politicians attended the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council after being appointed to coordinate Tinubu’s re-election campaign in their respective areas.

Wike was named coordinator for the FCT and Rivers State, while Soludo and Adeleke were assigned to coordinate the campaign in Anambra and Osun states, respectively.