The
candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Victor Umeh
for the Anambra Central Senatorial seat has warned his major opponent
and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Ekwunife not
to make further moves ahead of the fresh rerun election ordered by the
Court of Appeal Court in the senatorial zone.Umeh stated this, following as fresh indications emerged that the Enugu Appeal court barred the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Senator Uche Ekwunife from taking part in the rerun.
In a full text of the certified true copy of the Appeal Court judgment made available to journalists in Enugu yesterday, the court held that the 11th respondent (Ekwunife) “was not the product of a valid primary and was, therefore, not duly and legitimately nominated”.
While the development prompted the PDP to quickly fix January 9, 2016 for its party primaries, Ekwenife is said to be confident that she would still fly the party’s flag to contest the election.
But reacting to the content of the detailed judgment, Umeh said the judgment cited that Ekwunife was not a product of a valid party primary and, therefore, was disqualified from running in the race, as there was no window for primaries again.
His words: “The judgment has clearly removed Uche Ekwunife and the PDP from the next election” arguing that if one was not qualified to contest an election, the person cannot be qualified to be part of the re-run election.
“We have heard rumours that the PDP is planning to hold ward congress on January 7th and thereafter hold a primary on the 9th to nominate their candidate. So, it’s laughable because nomination for participation in this election ended in December 2014 and for that, withdrawal and substitution has also been concluded.”
Ekwunife had in the senatorial poll held on March 28 this year polled 101548 votes to outsmart her closest rival and Chief Victor Umeh, the national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), who garnered 77129 votes.
Announcing the result, Dr. Pius Okoye, the INEC returning officer attested that the poll was free, fair and credible, but the Appeal Court however nullified the election.
But the appellate court sitting in Enugu voided the polls and ordered a rerun, even as it held that since she was not a valid candidate of the PDP, such situation “has disqualified her from contesting the election into the Anambra Central senatorial District.”
Citing a Supreme Court ruling on Wambai Vs Donatus (2014) that “a person cannot be qualified to be a candidate of a party except and unless he is nominated and sponsored by a political party”, the court noted that neither Ekwunife nor the PDP led an evidence to prove that there was a primary and those who participated in such a primary where Ekwunife was elected.
Chairman of the Appeal panel Justice A.D. Yahaya who read the judgment said, “After an election if a person wishes to challenge the result of the election on ground of nomination/pre election matter, he can legally do so before a tribunal under Section 138 (1) (a) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended and it is wrong to hold that an election tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear and determine such a matter.”
He, therefore, held that “nomination is part and parcel of qualification to stand for an election and since an election can be challenged on the grounds of lack of qualification, it follows that the appropriate forum to challenge it after the election is held is the Election Tribunal”.
Ruling that the tribunal was therefore patently wrong in its decision, the appellate court said, “It (tribunal) had completely misapprehended the case presented in that vein and that had coloured it’s vision, denying it the composure and dispassionate consideration of the case”.
In
a swift reaction, the PDP candidate in the Anambra Central Senatorial
seat contest, Ekwunife dismissed Umeh’s claim as the ranting of someone
who was already becoming jittery because of the fear that after beating
him silly in the main election, she would still beat him again in the
forthcoming rerun poll.Describing as laughable the claim that she had been disqualified from the election, she said the enrolment order directed that fresh election should be conducted by INEC. Ekwunife noted that the constitution and the Electoral Act were clear on how a candidate for an election would be disqualified, explaining that nothing of such had sufficed in her case.
She explained that because of the absence of a valid party leadership in Anambra at the time of the primaries last December and following the court observation that she was a product of an invalid exercise, the PDP in Anambra had fixed January 9 for fresh primaries, observing that she was already prepared for the exercise.
Ekwunife maintained that she beat Chief Umeh in the last election and as such will always beat him in any contest under platform of any political party because of her antecedents and popularity.
Her words: “I wonder why some people will start going through the entire body of the judgment and ignore the main issue which is the enrolment order that fresh election be conducted for all the candidates. It smacks of somebody who is jittery and not ready to face the popular judgment of the people. I will soon begin my campaign and Umeh is busy looking for what to blackmail me with.”
“I won’t join issues with Chief Victor Umeh whom obviously is still licking his wounds after I beat him silly in the last election. What concerns me at this moment is how to go into the election and win again so as to continue to represent my people at the senate and not to join issues with him or his pay masters.
“My victory at the last election was an act of God and as such, I am not seeing anything as an obstacle to my re-election as my people have absolute confidence in me and that is why they voted me in at the first polls. Umeh is obviously very jittery about the re-run election because he knows he is not electable and as such will be beaten again”.
Ekwunife asked her supporters and people of Anambra Central senatorial zone to disregard the speculations and allegations being made by her opponent and promised to continue to strive to guard the votes of the people in March next year re-election in the zone.
This was not the first Umeh and Ekwunife would be engaging in a media war of recent. In a latest development, Ekwunife had bashed the candidate of APGA for insulting former President Good¬luck Jonathan, saying it was a sign of frustration and failure.
In a statement signed by her Chief of Staff, Emeka Iloeg¬bunam, the S
Neater said Umeh had been gloating that with Jonathan out of the way, there will be no hiding place for his op¬ponents in the next year’s re-run election.
“He (Umeh) forgot that the state government was the one that intimidated Senator Ekwunife using state might against a defenceless woman who was busy campaigning and he was blackmailing her”, the statement noted.
Iloegbunam added: “To¬day, Victor Umeh even has the moral rectitude to abuse former President, Goodluck Jonathan and accused him of being the cause of his woes. Maybe, I should re¬mind Umeh again that for more than 12 years he sat as the national chairman of APGA, he has never fielded any presidential candidate of Igbo extraction.
“He was the one that opened “Join Jonathan Jour¬ney (JJJ)”, opened a very big office and decorated it with APGA flags and other in¬signias. Victor Umeh was the same person that put his photograph side by side with that of the former President in his billboards, yet, he is now abusing the same per¬son”.
In another development, Ekwunife had lashed out at Umeh in a interview he granted an online portal, Odogwublog.com. She said, “Who is Umeh fooling, everybody knows him, he has come to the end of the road, he can”t escape it. This seat he can’t near it, he will not be a senator, it is as simple as that.’’
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