INEC: Anambra central senatorial re-run to hold Jan 13
…Court summons INEC, 29 others over poll
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, assured that the Anambra Central senatorial re-run election scheduled for January 13, 2018 will hold.
The State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, who gave the assurance in a telephone interview, said the legal debacle hindering the election from holding had been resolved. Orji said the legal department had studied the judgements and asked them to go ahead with the election as ordered by the Court of Appeal as against the Justice John Tsoholed Federal High Court judgement. A Federal High Court in Abuja has summoned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to appear and show cause why it should not be restrained from conducting the January 13 scheduled re-run election for Anambra state Central Senatorial seat.
Justice Babatunde Quadri also summoned 28 others, including Chief Victor Umeh, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA); Flint Ikechukwu Obiekwe; United Progressive Party (UPP); Senator Chris Ngige; All Progressives Congress (APC); Oyeh
Orji added that the commission had already commenced training of its ad hoc personnel.
“Our legal department has asked us to go ahead and obey the Court of Appeal order against the Federal High Court judgement. So, we are going ahead to conduct the election on January 13.
“We are going on with the election as scheduled. We have started training ad hoc personnel ahead of the poll,” the REC also said.
The Anambra Central Senatorial District had been without a senator since 2015 when the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, sacked the occupant of the position, Mrs Uche Ekwunife.
The court asked INEC to conduct a rerun in the district within 90 days, while disqualifying Ekwunife and her political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from participating in the re-run.
The PDP challenged its exclusion in the re-run at the Federal High Court, Abuja which granted judgement in its favour. Mercy Uche; Accord (A); Hon. Oby Kate Okafor; Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD); Chief Anayo Nweke; African Democratic Congress (ADC); Christopher Chukwendu; Citizens Popular Party (CPP); Okafor Ikechukwu; Independent Democrats (ID); Chief Dennis Oguguo; Kowa Party (KP) and Kingsley Nwafor.
Others are Ekweozoh Nkem; Mega Progressive Peoples Party (MPPP); Ubakamma Ikenna; National Conscience Party (NCP); Rev. Charles Ekwueme; People For Democratic Change (PDC); Igwilo Michael and Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA).
On the appeal by the candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, and his party, it contended that the PDP would not field a candidate in the re-run since it was on its instance that the election was nullified on December 7, 2015.
On Monday, November 20, 2017, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja delivered a judgment in favour of Umeh in which it ordered INEC to conduct the re-run election within 90 days of the judgment and excluding PDP from contesting in it.
Following this, INEC fixed the re-run for January 13, 2018.
But on December 13, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja declared Obiora Okonkwo of the PDP as senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District in a judgement delivered by Justice Tsoho.
Tsoho asked INEC to issue certificate of return to Okonkwo and ordered the Senate president to swear in the PDP candidate immediately as the senator for Anambra Central Senatorial District.
The order followed an ex parte application by Obiora Okonkwo through his counsel Sabastine Hon (SAN) seeking an interim injunction restraining INEC from proceeding with the rerun senatorial election billed for January 13. The date is fixed for January 10 for hearing. Also, Okonkwo has filed a contempt proceeding against the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, over the alleged disobedience to the order of Justice John Tsoho of another Federal High Court in Abuja on December 13, 2017 recognising him as the validly elected representative for Anambra Central Senatorial District.