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INEC issues certificate of return to Samson Ogah as Abia State governor

By Samson Ezea
02 July 2016   |   3:05 am
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was in the news again for issuing a Certificate of Return to Samson Ogah as the new governor of Abia State.
Uchechukwu Ogah

Uchechukwu Ogah

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was in the news again for issuing a Certificate of Return to Samson Ogah as the new governor of Abia State.

INEC’s action came barely three days after Governor Okezie Ikpeazu was sacked by a Federal High Court in Abuja after being indicted for tax evasion. There is no doubt that INEC’s step in this case was a good recipe for anarchy, considering the fact that Ikpeazu has appealed the judgment of the lower court that sacked him. Constitutionally, the case being a pre-election matter, is supposed to be terminated at the Supreme Court.

Even if INEC has not been served the Appeal Notice by Ikpeazu’s lawyers as alleged, has the constitutional days under which such appeal should served on INEC elapsed? Why was INEC in a hurry to issue Ogah Certificate of Return? Pundits are saying it was a plot to get Ikpeazu out of the Government House to strip him naked and render him helpless in the fight. INEC should explain to Nigerians where its action lies in the provisions of the 1999 constitution. The Commission should debunk or affirm Ikpeazu’s claim that his lawyers have served them his Notice of Appeal and stay of execution of the judgment.

With Ikpeazu‘s insistence that he remained the governor and Ogah’s move to be sworn-in, Abia State would become once again a place of political absurdity and democracy abracadabra. The judiciary and all authorities concerned should urgently wade in to save this time bomb.

Buhari’s “No WASC Certificate” Suit Withdrawn

BEFORE the 2015 presidential poll it was obvious that if President Muhammadu Buhari’s WASC certificate saga was not resolved at the court, it would be difficult to resolve it legally again. This was because immediately he won the poll and took control of government apparatus, those who took him to court may surrender for reasons best known to them.

So many Nigerians wouldn’t have been surprised with the Abuja-based lawyer, Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaiwe’s withdrawal of his suit seeking the disqualification of President Muhammadu Buhari from the 2015 Presidential poll for allegedly not possessing requisite education qualification. Why the withdrawal now and what was the behind-the-scene arrangements that brought about the withdrawal? Would the withdrawal stop other Nigerians from re-instituting the case again? Was this a confirmation that the President has no certificate as alleged or he has, but doesn’t want to present it? Some have even argued before now that a Nigerian President doesn’t need a Harvard certificate to provide good leadership, considering that Nigerians with longer certificates have failed the country in leadership assignments.

Metuh Offers To Refund N400 Million

IT seems it has now dawned on the former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Olisa Metuh and his lawyers that Metuh is walking on a tight ripe in his ongoing trial over alleged corrupt practice.

If not why is Metuh offering to refund the same money he has vowed before now never to return, having collected it legitimately.

Court Sacks Sheriff

IT is becoming obvious that the protracted leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not be over very soon, following the judgment of Federal High Court nullifying the 2014 PDP constitution amendment that brought Ali-Modu Sheriff into office.

Though many PDP faithful, especially those loyal to Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee said that the judgment removed Sheriff from office, but Sheriff has said that the judgment has not affected his position. So who will Nigerians and INEC believe now, Makarfi faction or Sheriff faction? Well, only time will tell and the earlier the time tells, the better for the party.

Alleged Forgery: Saraki, Ekweremmadu Arraigned, Granted Bail

ANOTHER salt was added to the injury of the Senate President Bukola Saraki following his arraignment over alleged forgery of Senate Rules alongside his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, and two others. The allegation of forgery against these two principal leaders of the Senate was a fall-out of the contrived and controversial circumstances surrounding their emergence as Senate leaders in June last year.

Some aggrieved Senators and their godfathers, who lost of out in the power play that characterised the election of the Senate president and his deputy, had approached Court to seek redress.

Saraki has been facing trial over alleged false assets declaration since he emerged the Senate President against the wish of his party leadership. Since then neither Saraki, the Presidency, nor the party leadership has known peace. Saraki and Ekweremmadu have alleged that their trial was part of the presidential cabal’s plot to remove them from office or silence them. While many are of the opinion that the allegations are not from the truth, others say that Saraki and Ekweremmadu should face trial and prove their innocence. The disturbing aspect of the whole drama is that despite the peace pact between the two warring factions in the Senate, peace has continued to elude the Upper Chamber. A situation many believed was being engineered from outside the Chamber.

So surprising was the disclosure that the Political Adviser to President Buhari and Senator that represented Ekiti Central in the Seventh National Assembly, Senator Femi Ojudu, was among the key witnesses lined up by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to prosecute Saraki, and others in the matter.

But unlike the rumour that strict bail conditions have been plotted against Saraki and his deputy to deny them bail after arraignment, the judge expeditiously granted them bail on arraignment, which they met and were allowed to return home.

Whether the allegation is true or not, and its implications, will be known when the matter is finally decided on by the Apex Court. On the time the final court ruling on the matter will be given, it depends on the judiciary and political undercurrents.

Ogboru, ex-Delta Speaker Ochei Defect To APC

FORMER Delta State Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in the 2015 election, Chief Great Ogboru, and the former Delta State House of Assembly Speaker Victor Ochei, on Tuesday defected to the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC). Since the PDP lost the presidential polls last year, the question many Nigerians have continued to ask is whether every Nigerian politician must be in the ruling party. It is becoming clear that the answer may be in the affirmative, with the recent defection of Ogboru and Ochie to APC.

Ogboru has contested governorship elections in Delta State severally but has never won. He is known as an opposition person, but his sudden decision to join the ruling party for the first time is very suspicious. Is he hoping or looking forward to achieve what he failed to achieve in opposition for years in the APC in 2019? Or his defection typical of an average Nigerian politician that is always on the look-out for a comfort zone at all times? If so, how does he think the polity and democratic process will grow without a virile opposition?

There is no doubt that Ochei has benefitted immensely from the PDP. A party that gave him chance to attain high positions in his political career, having served as Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly on the party’s platform. Though his ambition to govern the State failed due to some circumstances beyond his control, leaving the PDP at its trial moment is not good for his political records. Strong and principled men are often known and identified when the going was tough. This is because if there is anytime PDP needs men of character, it is now.

However, how sure are Ogboru and Ochei that they would find political solace in APC when the chips are down, considering that no organization or place is insulated from crisis.

Presidency Replies Saraki, Says Buhari Is Nobody’s Stooge

The Presidency has recently dismissed insinuation by Senate President Bukola Saraki that President Muhammadu Buhari was operating “a government within the government.’’

This was contained in a statement issued by the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina and issued to newsmen on Monday in Abuja.

The Presidency’s denial was expected and normal, but the truth is that every government in the country has always had a tiny cabal running things behind the scene and the present government is not different. The situation was not peculiar to the Presidency, but has always been the tradition in the country’s corridors of power. The activities of this cabal always come to fore when it becomes overbearing and destructive to the entire system. So both Saraki and the Presidency were on the same page in the their claims, but adopted different approaches to send their message across.

Pressure On Ribadu To Return To Progressives

WHO is pressurising Mallam Nuhu Rubadu to defect to the APC and why? Is it because of outstanding political value or liability? What happened to his short and sudden sojourn in the PDP, which he jumped into with the hope of grabbing the party’s governorship ticket on the platter of gold, but was frustrated. There is no doubt that Ribadu has since moved from the anti-graft Czar Nigerians knew to a typical Nigerian politician.

If Ribadu defects to the APC today, it will not make much news because the President’s wife is his relation. Maybe she is the one pressurising him to return to the party so that they can collectively build a political dynasty in the State. But Ribadu should recollect his bitter experience when he jumped into PDP with the presidential assurance of a governorship ticket that never saw the light of the day. Whether it will be different for him in the APC if he jumps in is a matter of conjecture and time.

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