Endless legal battles over Anambra Central senatorial seat
From Emma Elekwa, Awka
In less than two months after the November 18, 2017 governorship election in Anambra State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has again been faced with fresh a challenge of conducting yet another major election in the state - the Anambra Central Senatorial district re-run.
Before the January 13, 2018 date was chosen by the commission, following the Court of Appeal judgement that nullified the results of March 2015 election, expectations have been high from various stakeholders, particularly the people of senatorial district who had remained unrepresented at the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
Political observers have thought that following the February 10, 2017 ruling of the Supreme Court on the issue, coupled with the February 13, 2009 verdict of the same Supreme Court, the new candidates will not be allowed in a court ordered fresh election and that the INEC would immediately put necessary machinery in motion to conduct the long-awaited Anambra Central re-run poll.
But the electoral body has continued to exercise caution. This approach from the INEC, according to some pundits, is seen as a failure to take a firm decision even when the law appears to be fully on its side to hold the rerun poll, regardless of the pending court cases some politicians in Anambra Central are trying to use to frustrate the conduct of the election.
The major contenders in the race- Senator Uche Ekwunife, Chief Victor Umeh and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige - have continued to flex muscle at the expense of the people of the constituency, who as it were, are the greatest losers in the debacle.
While Ekwunife, who declared winner of the 2015 Anambra Central Senatorial election, was sworn in with other Senators same year. She was later removed, following the nullification of the election by the Court of Appeal in Enugu. Ngige was alleged to have vowed that nobody would assume that office by insisting that the election would not hold until all pending court cases are disposed of.
Umeh, the leading candidate for the re-run contest and former National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in a sharp response to Ngige, picked holes in the argument, warning him not to intimidate the INEC in the discharge of its constitutional mandate.
“I was surprised to read those audacious statements by Dr Ngige. My surprise stems from the fact that I could not fathom under what capacity Ngige was saying categorically that the poll can never take place until all court cases are cleared.
“From the question you asked me, he is the Minister of Labour and Employment, he does not work for the INEC that is empowered by the constitution to conduct elections,”he said.
He also said that none of the cases the Labour Minister was referring to in his assertion could stand as legal impediment against the conduct of the re-run.
“The issue of the eligible candidates who can take part in a court ordered fresh election or rerun election has been permanently settled by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in its judgement in a case between Labour Party and INEC, which judgment was delivered on the 13th February 2009.
“He should desist from intimidating the INEC in the discharge of its constitutional mandate. The era of intimidation by ruling parties in Nigeria should be over in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise of change.
“We experienced these things during the PDP days, but now that we are in a government that has preached change, nobody should use his membership of the ruling party or any arm of government to intimidate and dictate to the INEC. That is what Ngige has demonstrated and he has said it everywhere.”
Umeh, then, challenged the Labour Minister to resign his appointment and join the senatorial rerun contest.
He asked the minister who was the validly nominated candidate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 National Assembly election to join the race.
Umeh, who decried the alleged activities of certain politicians to shut out the people of the zone from having a senator in the National Assembly, urged the INEC to ignore the antics and conduct fresh election in consonant with the November 20 Court of Appeal judgment.
Enumerating the lost incurred due to the absence of a representative for the district for over two years, Umeh warned against further delay in the conduct of the election.
“INEC should ignore further decoy by some people who are bent on ensuring the people of Anambra are denied the opportunity of having a representative on the floor of the National Assembly till the end of the eight senate of the National Assembly,” he said.
Underscoring the efforts so far made to ensure the zone has a representative at the National Assembly, Umeh said he had been vindicated by the November 20 judgment that excluded PDP from participating and other previous rulings that insisted that status quo of the 2015 general elections should be maintained.
He expressed optimism that the INEC would heed to the latest appeal court judgment mandating her to conduct the election, stressing that “the people of the zone had waited for too long without a senator and would be of great interest if the fresh date of January 13 is penciled down for the election proper.”
As the battle rages, various groups and individuals have continued to appeal to the INEC to take urgent steps towards ensuring the conduct of the rerun election in the interest of the citizens of the senatorial zone.
Prominent among them are members of the constituency, who are the direct losers of the on-going muscle flexing. They have continued to lament over the absence of the representative of the constituency in the National Assembly.
They have also severally appealed to the power brokers to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign for the benefit of everybody.
A candidate for the rerun poll, on the platform of the Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), Oby Kate Okafor, had called on the INEC to do the needful by conducting the long delayed election.
Okafor had given the electoral body an ultimatum of two months (from April), after which according to her, she might be compelled to sue the commission for unnecessarily delaying the conduct of the election.
A civil rights activist, Comrade Obi Ochije, noted that Anambra Central had incurred a colossal loss due to two years of no representation at the upper chamber of the National Assembly.
Another constituent, Chief Chidozie Ezeugwa, called on politicians involved in supremacy battle to sheathe their swords in the interest of peace and progress of the zone.
A Professor of Political Science, Frank Collins Okafor, also lent his voice in appealing to the INEC to go ahead with the election.
Meanwhile, Chief Obiora Okonkwo, the acclaimed winner of the Senatorial District election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had asked the electoral umpire to issue the certificate of return to him, following the Abuja court ruling which ordered that he be sworn in as senator to replace Ekwunife, the former candidate of the PDP, who was sacked by the Court of Appeal for improper nomination.
Justice John Tsoho of the Abuja High Court ruled that Okonkwo was the validly nominated candidate of the party in the 2015 general elections and should be sworn in as the senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial district immediately.
Okonkwo, who had already forwarded the court judgement with the certified copy to the commission, through his lawyers, expressed hope that the commission would “allow reason to prevail.”
The letter titled, ‘Re-request to issue certificate of return to Dr. Okonkwo Obiora in compliance with judgement of the Federal High Court in suit No. FHC/ABJ/ CS/1092/2014’ was signed by Chief Sebastine Hon.
Okonkwo had in 2014 instituted a court action against the PDP, its then National Chairman, Adamu Muazu, INEC and Mrs. Uche Ekwenife, challenging the nomination of Ekwenife as PDP’s candidate of the party for the 2015 National Assembly election.
Unfortunately, the conflicting judgements on the matter, is said to be tearing the leadership of the INEC apart as the electoral umpire is contemplating whether or not to implement the court ruling.
The commission, through its chief Press Secretary, Rotimi Oyekanmi, had however, dismissed the speculation about the lingering crisis splitting the commission. Oyekanmi said that the commission had applied for certified copy of the ruling.
As all eyes focus on the INEC, pundits say that the electoral body must be decisive as the people of the senatorial district deserve to have a voice in the highest legislative body of the country.