Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The crisis plaguing the Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, is far from over, as one of the governorship aspirants , Chief Daniel Eke, has warned that the party might not field any candidate in the 2023 governorship election.
Eke who dragged the party and its governorship ticket claimants, Chief Ikechi Emenike; and Dr Uche Ogah; products of parallel primaries, to court has vowed not to give up in the matter until he gets justice.
Dr Eke who addressed newsmen at the premises of the Federal High Court Umuahia, lamented that after paying a whopping N50 million to APC for its nomination form, the party failed to organise a credible primary election for its contestants.
He said that he went to court to stop impunity and lawlessness among politicians and political parties.
He said: “The impunity that led to the emerging of two claimants to APC governorship ticket in a parallel primary is what we are fighting against.
“I paid N50 million to purchase my nomination form, so, I deserve the right to have an equal playing ground in the contest. Never again shall a political party take people’s N50 million and fail to give them equal opportunity.
“They can’t do that and be allowed to get away with it. There is a price that must be paid. If the court decides that APC will not have a candidate in the governorship election, so be it!”
Chief Eke said he was pained that his hard-earned money was collected from him without any efforts by the party to justify it.
“I’m not a money bag; every penny I make, I earned it. I can’t bring out N50 million and buy nomination form, and the party will fail to organize primaries. They should have at least given everybody equal chance so that if I lose I will be the first to congratulate the winner.”
Eke said that he tried to explore all the party’s internal mechanisms for conflict resolution but was ignored, hence his decision to go to court.
He insisted that APC’s governorship primaries in Abia did not comply with both the party’s constitution, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) guidelines.
Eke, however, said he remained a loyal member of the APC but insisted that the law must take its course.
Speaking earlier, his lawyer, Obinna Nkume, dismissed “the purported primaries as a charade and a sham.”
“My client is saying that the APC governorship primaries in Abia were not conducted in line with the party guidelines, so everything they did was invalid.
“Our prayer is that the court should set aside the primaries, and award damages to my client.”
He argued that both Emenike who claimed he emerged through indirect primaries and Ogah claiming to have been produced via directed primary,” cannot sustain their claims; they violated the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.”
The lawyer argued that whereas the APC had directed for direct primary for Abia, Chief Emenike “purportedly emerged” through indirect primary in clear violation of the directive; while “Ogah’s purported primary” was not supervised by the party’s electoral committee.
“The Electoral Act is clear: if you opt for direct primary, you do direct primary. The party opted for direct primary for Abia but the committee did indirect primary where Emenike claims to have emerged. For Ogah, the position of the Electoral Act is that if the party’s electoral committee does not participate in your primary even if INEC supervises it, such a primary is a sham.”
Meanwhile, the court has adjourned the matter till October 5, for definite hearing.
When the matter came up before Justice Evelyn Anyadike of the Federal High Court Umuahia, Eke’s lawyer said they were served the responses by the Respondents just three days ago, and needed some time to respond.
The court, therefore, directed that all the parties should file all their processes for a definite hearing to commence on October 5.
Speaking also in an interview, Chief Emenike’s lawyer, H. O Afolabi ( SAN), said his client had presented to the court the authentic results of the primaries that produced him.
Afolabi claimed that the plaintiff was not even sure of who he was challenging because he was not able to prove that he participated in any of the primaries.
Similarly, counsel to Ogah, Oliver Amuzie, said the primary that produced his client was in compliance with the directive of APC national leadership.
He insisted that the primary was valid, claiming that it was conducted by the party’s electoral committee and supervised by INEC.
“We have filed our processes. It’s left for the court to decide,” he added.
