₦airaland Forum

Wike or no wike APC can not win presidential election in Rivers State

Let him go join APC na.
Amaechi is waiting to get a pound of flesh off his frigging ass. And you know that he will still be answering to Amaechi. He is not that humble. And if he tries it, I see a train wreck for APC which may lead to one of them leaving.

That is what they call zero sum game.

Omonieme:
It's inconceivable that Wike will decamp to APC. That said, Atiku and the PDP hasn't dealt Wike a fair hand. Dude has made way too much sacrifices for the party. Post 2015, he literally kept PDP afloat financially. Would there be PDP without Wike? Yes but would it have been an attractive platform for Atiku to seek power in 2019 and 23, I don't think so. Even after 2019, Atiku left PDP and japad to Dubai. Wike provided much needed leadership and steel. Fairplay to Atiku, he won the Primaries fairly. No doubt about that. Wike's sense of entitlement that he should have been handed the ticket on a platter is not possible. But, what Atiku could and should have done is manage the post primary better. I'm not saying he should have picked Wike as vice. Nah! You can only pick who you can be comfortable working with. But, he should have given Wike a sense of belonging. Make him feel like he matters in the scheme of things. Even if his choice of VP is settled, make it seem as if Wike had a role to play in the VP selection and all of that. But nah! Now, PDP and Atiku's traditional base that's already being threatened by Obi's emergence may further be decimated by Wike. Not good at all.
That said, I've got a clean 04 Camry for Sale. It's in perfect condition with reverse camera and there's absolutely nothing to fix. Reason for sale is I want to upgrade. Check it out on my profile

My dad worked under Atiku. In 1999 he said Obasanjo had not known whom he had chosen as VP. He said Atiku wasn't a trusted and reliable fellow. He said Atiku might be facing east and be talking about west whereas he plan is South. Atiku has no plan to win. Wike having won over 40% of the votes would have driven a thought of relevance into Atiku skulls. Get Wike to nominate your vice. Ask Wike to give you three or more names and out of which choose. Buhari did same with Tinubu.

CockAndBullStor:
Wike will never decamp, he will never leave PDP and nobody in the party has the effrontery to expunge him. Wike will remain in the party to expertly carryout his plans.

Amaechi is out there making sure that the loud mouth with overbloated ego stays where he is unless Wike wants to become Amaechis errand boy.

Karma is real and Amaechi is already salivating for payback.

chrisxxx:
My dad worked under Atiku. In 1999 he said Obasanjo had not known whom he had chosen as VP. He said Atiku wasn't a trusted and reliable fellow. He said Atiku might be facing east and be talking about west whereas he plan is South. Atiku has no plan to win. Wike having won over 40% of the votes would have driven a thought of relevance into Atiku skulls. Get Wike to nominate your vice. Ask Wike to give you three or more names and out of which choose. Buhari did same with Tinubu.

Exactly my thought.... Even if Wike isn't nominating the VP, Sha make him important. Give him a list of your preferred candidates and ask him to help you pick one. Or, ahead of announcing your choice, meet with him, tell him you're planning on picking so so person, this is why u want to pick him and you want his support

WIKE IS BEHAVING LIKE A LADY WHO WAS JILTED AT THE ALTAR ON HER WEDDING DAY
HELL HATH NO FURY THAN A WOMAN SCORNED.

Strongdickfresh:
FAKE NEWS!

Where are the pictures or videos of Wike meeting with Tinubu in London or France?

Wike has suddenly become a better person in the eyes of Tinubu urchins.

Wike joining APC or working for Tinubu will remain a mirage. APC and Tinubu urchins are just dreaming.

Tinubu is your problem in life I guess. he is d sole reason you wretched. but his hatred this much will not help you either.

Mrfixitt:
With people like you, Nigeria will remain a shit hole. Sometimes I wonder if you guys still have brains left in your head

Stop insulting people because they disagree with you. If you truly want Nigeria to be great again, supporting Tinubu should be your priority based on track records.

Governing Nigeria shouldn't be about mouthwashing, it should be performance based. How did they perform when they governed their local governments, constituencies and states? That's what we should judge them on.

Now, sit down and think critically, then use it to evaluate the presidential aspirants. I'm pretty sure your guess would be as good as mine.

Peace!

Abujason:
Amaechi is out there making sure that the loud mouth with overbloated ego stays where he is unless Wike wants to become Amaechis errand boy.

Karma is real and Amaechi is already salivating for payback.

With this development, Amechi would even be much more concerned because he is on the edges already and technically out of the scheme of things. If this collabo comes through, it's a win for Wike. So, Amechi would be praying for it to fall through.

Jestin:
They re ganging up again to give us another incapable leader. We shall fight to our bones this time ard.

if TINUBU who is moving frm one state to another and countries too is not capable,then who is?? If your wretched father is that fit, I blf he wont be that poor.

ceaser:
Okay. Here is the plot, or so it seems.

Flashback to 2015. There has been serious uproar about how GEJ was handling his presidency vis-a-vis insecurity and the corruption amongst his ministers especially that of the oil minister and Stella oduah. The problem that seemed to stand out from others was the supposed overbearing attitude of his wife (Patience Jonathan) that made many to make her the butt of jokes and even GEJ was blamed for handing over governance to her.

She was truly overbearing because this was reflected at a PDP stakeholders meeting when Amaechi Chibuike (the present minister for works) was talking at the podium. Patience Jonathan went straight to the podium and snatched the microphone from Amaechi and began to berate him. Amaechi, pain and embarrassed, could not do much because she is the president's wife so he went to sit down but later moved out of the meeting. This was all televised on national TV. Although other untoward attitudes of Patience had unsettled some PDP stalwarts before this incidence, but that one with Amaechi marked the start of disintegration of the PDP under GEJ. The PDP governors of the North had been considering backing out of the party. Now a willing tool in the person of Amaechi had been discovered.

Tinubu (of ACN as at then) was watching all these as it transpired. Then he noted the friction between Amaechi and patience and also the already weakening alliance of PDP governors of the North. He decided that was a moment to strike!

That week that Patience Jonathan shamed Amaechi at the podium, he (Amaechi) was invited by Tinubu and then the various defections and counter PDP moves began. Then what followed was the alliance talks to form the APC from ACN of the North (which received majority of the disgruntled PDP northern governors) and ACN of the south which already had strong presence within the atates of the South west. Amaechi who was hitherto a strong PDP link and PDP stalwart in the south south and south east regions had been shamed by Patience and was now a potential weak link to the party in that region. Tinubu approached him and formed an alliance with him, so began the war to bring down the ruling party.

Fast forward to 2022 and a similar trend is playing out. Wike incontrovertibly is a strong man to be reckoned with in PDP, for it was him who provided the emotional and financial war chest all those times that PDP flimsily hung on to relevance. He kept the spirit of the party alive all through those years when even GEJ who is an ex-president on the party could not muster his own strenght and relevance to pull the party together and hold the people united. Wike braved it all and held the party to be relevant in tbe South South and South East. He had alliances with DAPO Abiodun of Oyo and kept in touch with the vocal Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti in the south west, who also vowed to be a die hard PDP man.

All these while Atiku, who is notorious for whimsically adulterating political parties like a petulant child changes toys, was lounging in Dubai. And when the time came for Wike (who now believes that he had the right to the presidency on the platform of the party he has held together), and truly who wouldn't aspire for such too, Atiku jetted back into Nigeria to snatch that moment from Wike, enabled by his northern brother who Wike had also trusted until the last minute when he stepped down for Atiku, paving the way for him (Atiku) to have a majority vote against Wike.

Wike has the arsenal to decimate the PDP as far as the south south and partially the south east is concerned and this is a fact the Northern PDP should realize. Wike is pained and rightfully so on three fronts:

First, he felt cheated that someone who was not with him all the years he invested into the party came overnight and clinched the slot from him accompanied by the betrayal of Kwakawanso which allowed Atiku to win the primaries.

Second, the unwritten zoning agreement within the party which if strictly adhered to, should favour the unanimous emergence of Wike as a Southern aspirant on the party platform has just been broken with the insistence of Atiku to contest the primaries.

Third, an undeserving Atiku after winning the primaries amidst backstabbing should as a matter of sportsmanship, akin to what Tinubu did, approached the other contestants especially Wike and forged a proper alliance with him. This alliance should possibly include the promise of the vice presidency slot to him, irrespective of the fact that Wkie publicly declared that he will never be a second hand man (vice president) in Nigeria. But Atiku made no such attempt. Even after a party committee was set up to chose between Wike and Ifeanyi Okowa, at which point Atiku had the free pass to appease Wike, he still decided to chose Okowa. This is of course apparent in Atiku's fear that Wike is a man like him - difficult, egoistic, rebellious, corrupt, sometimes recalcitrant and a potential troublemaker; all problems that Obasanjo had from Atiku as his vice president. So Atiku will not love to have the same sword he used passed over his own head, thus his choice of Ifeanyi Okowa, a more malleable person, as his running mate.

Now Tinubu has seen this crack and like a reharsh of 2015 strategy, has gone for the southern strongman of the party, with the hopes of forging an alliance and decimating the chances of the party in the south south, and maybe in the south east, come 2023 general elections.

I sincerely feel that if BAT could claim "investment in the APC" as a reason for a right of passage for him to emerge a candidate in his party, why can't Wike also claim same in PDP? This is irrespective of the fact that this strategy may be counterproductive as it did with the APC who lost the chance to field an egghead like Osinbajo as her candidate, a choice which would have prevented the problems associated with a Muslim-Muslim ticket and a move which would as well placed the APC a formidable opponent towards the rising popularity of Peter Obi who many is seeing as a viable alternative to the vibrancy, great health, oratory prowess and youthful strenght that they were denied in Osinbajo the moment he was stopped from emerging a candidate of the APC.

But at this point, an egoistic Wike will not mind sinking the PDP just so to prove his point. And an equally egoistic Atiku will not mind pushing his luck to the last just so to prove that Wike is irrelevant. Two points of return has been passed. The first point of repair was immediate post primaries when Atiku could have appeased Wike with something as ordinary as an official visit to him in Rivers state, the second point of repair being his chance to choose Wike as running mate. Sadly a point of no return has been reached and for the two giants, is a fight to the finish.

your submission makes an interesting read....captivating and insightful.

Gadetimese:
Tinubu is a PLACEHOLDER for Gov Shettima, the earlier you people realize this, the better.

Most of the people pushing escoBAT do not know there's an agenda to just install him by fire by force, and when he is tired and sick before 2 years, Shettima will be sworn-in as President and more Kabiru Sokoto will be hiding in his house.

Even Yaradua was way stronger than him before he became president. A sick country does not need a sick president

Every Attempt To Convert Aso Rock To Retirement Home For The Elderly & Sick , We Cancel & Destroy in Jesus Name.

Only an ashiere, afofungbemu believe that APC can rescue Nigeria from APC

copy and paste master grow up on time your mate hav left you behind. Thinking like this shows you are d biggest idiot of d year. How will Nigeria grow with ppl like you. Imagine the way most of you are reasoning.

Wike is not joining Apc
Wike will not work for APC

WIKE is only using Apc to get what ever he wants from PDP and its part of the politics

Michelle70:
Wike has one vote?
i laugh in swahili.

Oga Wike does not have one vote
Calm down let me explain.

A common councillor has loyalists up to 30 and they will vote whoever he asked them to vote.
With this, it is safe to say a councillor has 31 votes, now compare that to how many votes Wike has, he can influence some LG chairmen/Kings/ councillors, governors, Assembly members, top politicians etc who can influence their subjects.
When they were telling u the power of structure, u think say na joke.
there is vote which u have anlivd there is value vote which Wike has.
In 2023, u will know that structure is everything

oga do you live in tivers state? cos you just said nonsense.. make sure you find out from those living there to tell you what is obtainable. okay?

Geminiivory:
oga do you live in tivers state? cos you just said nonsense.. make sure you find out from those living there to tell you what is obtainable. okay?

I am in Rivers state and i grew up here and i am telling u that Politicians have their loyalists and also their sympathizers.

A top politician like Wike doesnt have one vote

hopexter:
Those employed by wike will vote whoever Wike votes for, mostly those government officials, local government chairmen and workers etc. Ig you have more to benefit with Wike you’ll always follow him wherever just to keep your job or be part of they fraudulent business you get being in his camp, that’s what’s happening in Lagos.

oga Rivers state isnt lagos.. You obviously dont live in Rivers state... Abeg keep this nonsense analysis to yourself. Obviously a learner with respect to Rivers politics..

No wonder. So all the votes in 2019 for PDP in Rivers was not even up to 500k.
No wonder PDP feel they can do without Wike.

ceaser:
Okay. Here is the plot, or so it seems.

Flashback to 2015. There has been serious uproar about how GEJ was handling his presidency vis-a-vis insecurity and the corruption amongst his ministers especially that of the oil minister and Stella oduah. The problem that seemed to stand out from others was the supposed overbearing attitude of his wife (Patience Jonathan) that made many to make her the butt of jokes and even GEJ was blamed for handing over governance to her.

She was truly overbearing because this was reflected at a PDP stakeholders meeting when Amaechi Chibuike (the present minister for works) was talking at the podium. Patience Jonathan went straight to the podium and snatched the microphone from Amaechi and began to berate him. Amaechi, pain and embarrassed, could not do much because she is the president's wife so he went to sit down but later moved out of the meeting. This was all televised on national TV. Although other untoward attitudes of Patience had unsettled some PDP stalwarts before this incidence, but that one with Amaechi marked the start of disintegration of the PDP under GEJ. The PDP governors of the North had been considering backing out of the party. Now a willing tool in the person of Amaechi had been discovered.

Tinubu (of ACN as at then) was watching all these as it transpired. Then he noted the friction between Amaechi and patience and also the already weakening alliance of PDP governors of the North. He decided that was a moment to strike!

That week that Patience Jonathan shamed Amaechi at the podium, he (Amaechi) was invited by Tinubu and then the various defections and counter PDP moves began. Then what followed was the alliance talks to form the APC from ACN of the North (which received majority of the disgruntled PDP northern governors) and ACN of the south which already had strong presence within the atates of the South west. Amaechi who was hitherto a strong PDP link and PDP stalwart in the south south and south east regions had been shamed by Patience and was now a potential weak link to the party in that region. Tinubu approached him and formed an alliance with him, so began the war to bring down the ruling party.

Fast forward to 2022 and a similar trend is playing out. Wike incontrovertibly is a strong man to be reckoned with in PDP, for it was him who provided the emotional and financial war chest all those times that PDP flimsily hung on to relevance. He kept the spirit of the party alive all through those years when even GEJ who is an ex-president on the party could not muster his own strenght and relevance to pull the party together and hold the people united. Wike braved it all and held the party to be relevant in tbe South South and South East. He had alliances with DAPO Abiodun of Oyo and kept in touch with the vocal Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti in the south west, who also vowed to be a die hard PDP man.

All these while Atiku, who is notorious for whimsically adulterating political parties like a petulant child changes toys, was lounging in Dubai. And when the time came for Wike (who now believes that he had the right to the presidency on the platform of the party he has held together), and truly who wouldn't aspire for such too, Atiku jetted back into Nigeria to snatch that moment from Wike, enabled by his northern brother who Wike had also trusted until the last minute when he stepped down for Atiku, paving the way for him (Atiku) to have a majority vote against Wike.

Wike has the arsenal to decimate the PDP as far as the south south and partially the south east is concerned and this is a fact the Northern PDP should realize. Wike is pained and rightfully so on three fronts:

First, he felt cheated that someone who was not with him all the years he invested into the party came overnight and clinched the slot from him accompanied by the betrayal of Kwakawanso which allowed Atiku to win the primaries.

Second, the unwritten zoning agreement within the party which if strictly adhered to, should favour the unanimous emergence of Wike as a Southern aspirant on the party platform has just been broken with the insistence of Atiku to contest the primaries.

Third, an undeserving Atiku after winning the primaries amidst backstabbing should as a matter of sportsmanship, akin to what Tinubu did, approached the other contestants especially Wike and forged a proper alliance with him. This alliance should possibly include the promise of the vice presidency slot to him, irrespective of the fact that Wkie publicly declared that he will never be a second hand man (vice president) in Nigeria. But Atiku made no such attempt. Even after a party committee was set up to chose between Wike and Ifeanyi Okowa, at which point Atiku had the free pass to appease Wike, he still decided to chose Okowa. This is of course apparent in Atiku's fear that Wike is a man like him - difficult, egoistic, rebellious, corrupt, sometimes recalcitrant and a potential troublemaker; all problems that Obasanjo had from Atiku as his vice president. So Atiku will not love to have the same sword he used passed over his own head, thus his choice of Ifeanyi Okowa, a more malleable person, as his running mate.

Now Tinubu has seen this crack and like a reharsh of 2015 strategy, has gone for the southern strongman of the party, with the hopes of forging an alliance and decimating the chances of the party in the south south, and maybe in the south east, come 2023 general elections.

I sincerely feel that if BAT could claim "investment in the APC" as a reason for a right of passage for him to emerge a candidate in his party, why can't Wike also claim same in PDP? This is irrespective of the fact that this strategy may be counterproductive as it did with the APC who lost the chance to field an egghead like Osinbajo as her candidate, a choice which would have prevented the problems associated with a Muslim-Muslim ticket and a move which would as well placed the APC a formidable opponent towards the rising popularity of Peter Obi who many is seeing as a viable alternative to the vibrancy, great health, oratory prowess and youthful strenght that they were denied in Osinbajo the moment he was stopped from emerging a candidate of the APC.

But at this point, an egoistic Wike will not mind sinking the PDP just so to prove his point. And an equally egoistic Atiku will not mind pushing his luck to the last just so to prove that Wike is irrelevant. Two points of return has been passed. The first point of repair was immediate post primaries when Atiku could have appeased Wike with something as ordinary as an official visit to him in Rivers state, the second point of repair being his chance to choose Wike as running mate. Sadly a point of no return has been reached and for the two giants, is a fight to the finish.




While your claim of placeholder deserves consideration, you are indeed wrong in the bolded. Yar'Adua had what is called Mennier's disease which had many complications associated with it, renal problems included. It was just a matter of time before the inevitable happened.

Tinubu on the other hand appears to be suffering from an early onset of the problems of advancing age. Some people like OBJ, are blessed with delayed onset of these inevitables. What this means is that there is no chance for rapid deterioration in health like it happened in Yar'Adua's case. So BAT may go an uneventful 8 years.

But truly, I still have my concerns, for an ailing BAT is incomparable to an energetic Òsínbàjó and Peter Òbí. However, time is the only referee in this instance.

Having said that, I hope that whoever clinches this position between the duo of Tinubu or Peter Obi should as a matter of urgency start moves, subtle, covert or otherwise to commence true federalism if he really wants to show Nigerians that he has their best interests at heart.

The productive people are bleeding and the goose that lays the golden egg is being starved. And this is serious injustice that must be addressed first to ensure that every other thing falls in line. Obasanjo brought some semblance of balance into the polity when he became the president and the peace was apparent in his reign.

True federalism will significantly reduce the power in the centre, thereby reducing the perennial struggle for the seat in Abuja between the various ethnicities and nationalities in this country. A sanwó-olú in Lagos will not be desperate to clinch the seat in Aṣọ Rock because the monies there will not even be worth the trouble. He will prefer to see the presidency more as prestige than as enrichment. He will rather stay in Lagos where the money is and the citizens will also be a winner because they can hold their governor who is closer to them in a small Lagos to account better than they can do to a Sanwó Olú in a larger, more difficult to administer Nigeria.

Also true federalism could be a first baby steps to regional system of governance that brought the much needed developments to all the regions at their own pace in those previous golden years of Nigeria. No thanks to Aguiyi-Ironsi who destroyed such lofty and great arrangement that plunged us back into the abbyss. If we experiment with true federalism for some years, we can decide if it is best we retain it or move again to trying out regional system.

I swear I read every single thing . This is awesome. You broke down the problem

Finneseguy1:
Another name for Wike is VAWULENCE, Wike just be giving Atiku sleepless night back2back

So you do not think this is Anti party stuff??
Because it's wike??

Michelle70:
I am in Rivers state and i grew up here and i am telling u that Politicians have their loyalists and also their sympathizers.

A top politician like Wike doesnt have one vote

Oga tell yourself the truth .. I knkw Rivers State very well and right bow in Rivers state. The truth we all know is that PDP ll still ve something considerably in River stste without Wike and ApC wont ve much at all mainly cos of the MM ticket.. Oga we all know Rivers state.. How nany lotalist? That Muslim Muslim ticket is the issue for wike.. How does he want to sell APC to Rivers state.Same APC that dealth with their son Amaechi? abwg talk another thing. You dey even hear APC sef for Rivers state again? I wan even make sure say you dey Rivers state sef. Rivers Apc wey don scatter finish . so naa Wike wey come gather dem? lol.. abeg talk something else

ceaser:
Okay. Here is the plot, or so it seems.

Flashback to 2015. There has been serious uproar about how GEJ was handling his presidency vis-a-vis insecurity and the corruption amongst his ministers especially that of the oil minister and Stella oduah. The problem that seemed to stand out from others was the supposed overbearing attitude of his wife (Patience Jonathan) that made many to make her the butt of jokes and even GEJ was blamed for handing over governance to her.

Great analysis! You've said it all!

kahal29:
https://dailytrust.com/tinubu-wikes-london-meeting-rattles-pdp-atiku

Buy why is Atiku behaving this way. The bulk of his advisers are not intelligent people. He should do away with them. Atiku needs to go and settle with wike himself . Simple. I mean seeing the guy in person and talking and not sending some old proud self centered politicians to further rattle and delibrately scatter the arrangement and reconciliation.

How can you not have met wike by now . Just simple persuading him and talking like brothers. Posterity will not judge PDP well if we return back into this APC mess delibrately due to ego.

And if they are all not interested, let them support peter obi's labour party. It will bring an end to those shameless party called APC

Isokiscool:
PDP should just zerro their mind that they might not win next year's election but plan building d party outside wike and his gang.

Do you think Atiku will be in Nigeria after the election? Okowa was a governor and yet couldn't do much for PDP in the federal level, only Wike and Fayose fought for PDP.

Throwback:
Wike has gone with those that have structure.

A big sorry to those without structure.

Let them visit more churches.

Truth is Wike cannot even control the mind of those that will vote. . So what's the point?

Throwback:
I thought we were voting candidates and not party?

It still marvels me how you all think Tinubu made Lagos �‍♂️ Lagos that was once the FCT, it has started seeing civilisation from colonial days even before Tinubu was born.... shame to all misinformed miscreants supporting a man based on false claims

Omonieme:
It's inconceivable that Wike will decamp to APC. That said, Atiku and the PDP hasn't dealt Wike a fair hand. Dude has made way too much sacrifices for the party. Post 2015, he literally kept PDP afloat financially. Would there be PDP without Wike? Yes but would it have been an attractive platform for Atiku to seek power in 2019 and 23, I don't think so. Even after 2019, Atiku left PDP and japad to Dubai. Wike provided much needed leadership and steel. Fairplay to Atiku, he won the Primaries fairly. No doubt about that. Wike's sense of entitlement that he should have been handed the ticket on a platter is not possible. But, what Atiku could and should have done is manage the post primary better. I'm not saying he should have picked Wike as vice. Nah! You can only pick who you can be comfortable working with. But, he should have given Wike a sense of belonging. Make him feel like he matters in the scheme of things. Even if his choice of VP is settled, make it seem as if Wike had a role to play in the VP selection and all of that. But nah! Now, PDP and Atiku's traditional base that's already being threatened by Obi's emergence may further be decimated by Wike. Not good at all.
That said, I've got a clean 04 Camry for Sale. It's in perfect condition with reverse camera and there's absolutely nothing to fix. Reason for sale is I want to upgrade. Check it out on my profile

There's nothing Atiku would have done to please Wike.

If Wike 8s not supporting Obi, then it's none of my business. It's nonsense news to me.

Jestin:
They re ganging up again to give us another incapable leader. We shall fight to our bones this time ard.

Who is the “we”

CockAndBullStor:
Hmmm

It doesn't work like that oh. In 2015, the total actual votes for PDP was about 495k. Having seen the number votes allocated to APC in Kano, Wike instructed the Returning Officer to change the figure to 1.4m.

So, talking about influence isn't about changing the minds of the electorates alone. I hope you understand

lol. very funny analysis.. Abeg make unaa come here talk.. Haa!!! Beer parlor gist

kahal29:
https://dailytrust.com/tinubu-wikes-london-meeting-rattles-pdp-atiku

IPOBs=bandits=herdsmen=peteriosts=Hate


We are overconfident

That Tinubu is the next president of Nigeria

..

Wike should continue , in the end he will lose all .
You can't cut your nose to spite your face , maybe he thinks Amaechi will allow him a free ride in APC after all that have happened in the past.
PDP should find a strong person in Rivers to share his influence and continue putting his house in order , one man cannot hold the party to ransom