By Daniel Kanu
Assistant Politics Editor,
Abia State Government has expressed utmost confidence in the ability of the Justices of the Supreme Court to correct the anomaly of the recent Court of Appeal judgement and uphold the victory of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, emphatic that Governor Ikpeazu’s mandate is sacred, safe and cannot be purchased with money.
Simultaneously, the state government expressed serious concern about the danger of the judgement of the Court of Appeal panel which recently ordered the removal of Governor Ikpeazu from office, saying the ruling was capable of plunging the state into anarchy, but for the peaceful disposition of the governor who has continued to urge the people not to take laws into their hands.
The government said that what the people of the state desire is good governance, which they have experienced in the first 200 days of Ikpeazu’s tenure the reason the government appealed to the Judiciary not to play into the hands of politicians whose desire is to toy with the lives and aspirations of the people of the state.
Mr Godwin Adindu, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, in a statement in Umuahia on Wednesday, noted that the judgment of the Appeal Court nullifying the election of Ikpeazu was a travesty of justice as well as a rape of democracy.
“We see the Appeal Court ruling as travesty of justice and rape of democracy and the entire world must rise up to condemn this judicial rascality. Abia State is not for sale and nobody should trifle with the destiny of the people,” he cautioned. “All the people involved in this grand conspiracy to cause havoc in Abia and drag the state into anarchy and bloodshed should stay clear of the state.”
According to Adindu, since the New Year eve ruling by the Court of Appeal, there have been massive protests across the state, including protests by Ukwa Ugwa men, led by former Senate President Adolphus Wabara and Chief Gershon Amuta, which grounded activities in Aba. Ukwa Ugwa women also followed up with the same trend, protesting in black attire as they marched on the streets of Aba in a re-enactment of the Aba Women Riot of 1929.
The Abia State government raised fundamental issues about the Court of Appeal ruling, saying that, if allowed to stand, it would mean the denial of the rights of a large number of the electorate to choose their representatives. It wondered how the appellate court could allow the disenfranchising of three local governments which constitute one-third of Abia State electorate, including the state governor himself.
The statement noted, “How could (the justices) have ordered INEC to swear-in Mr. Alex Otti immediately after their pronouncement when they know that there is still a window of 14 days within which the Governor has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court?”
Abia government argued that APGA was not ready for the 2015 governorship election as demonstrated by its inability to field candidates for the House of Assembly in the two state constituencies of Obingwa Local Government Area, where PDP governorship candidates hail from. “So, who could have mobilised or monitored votes for APGA in Obingwa?”
The statement described the peaceful demonstration in Aba and other parts of the state as a legitimate expression of the people’s will. “There is a provision for such open show of disenchantment in our Constitution. The aim is to dramatise our anger over the Appeal Court ruling so that the entire world will know that injustice has been done to the people of Aba. Our people are conducting themselves within the ambit of the law,” the statement noted further.
It criticised the constitution of the Court of Appeal panel, recalling that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state had earlier raised alarm that all the five justices that constituted the election appeal panel were of the same Lagos Division, contrary to the established tradition of having a mixture of justices from different divisions of the Court of Appeal.
“Lagos is where the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr Alex Otti resides and does business,” the statement noted, adding that PDP had expressed fear of a possible compromise at the onset of the appeal by the APGA candidate who lost his case at the election tribunal.
The government also condemned what it described as a regime of intimidation and harassment as confirmed by Tuesday’s invasion of the Aba residence of the Commissioner for Works, Hon. Eziuche Ubani, who is a leader of the protests against the Appeal Court judgment and the Wednesday harassment of Mr. Ginger Onwutibe, the Transition Chairman of Isiala Ngwa North.
“This is unwarranted intimidation. Government feels highly embarrassed by this action and demands an unreserved apology from the security agencies involved in the act,” the statement added.
