DENNIS AGBO of National mirror writes on the bitter bickering between Senator Ayogu Eze and Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi over the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, gubernatorial ticket in Enugu State.
Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Marine Transport, Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, on December 8 emerged as Enugu State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, gubernatorial candidate in the primary election that took place at the Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium, Enugu.
Ugwuanyi scored 933 to defeat his closest rival and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Eugene Odoh, who polled 26 votes. Almost at the same time, Senator Ayogu Eze, representing Enugu in the Senate claimed victory in a parallel primary election where he was the sole contestant in an Enugu hotel.
Ugwuanyi’s election went on smoothly as both Governor Sullivan Chime and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, took part in the exercise. The election was supervised by PDP panel from Abuja, led by King Asara Asara as chairman, Ukpai Ukairo as secretary as well as Saratu Umar, Engr Alamu Adeyemi and Ikeje Asogwa.
Though only two of the six aspirants, Ugwuanyi and Odoh participated in the exercise, as two others, Chinedu Onu and Anayo Onwuegbu, stepped down for Ugwuanyi, it nonetheless attracted all stakeholders in the state politics, including former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, former National Chairman of the PDP, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, members of the National and state Assemblies, among others. Senator Eze and another aspirant, Chief Sam Onyeishi, kept away from the exercise that a team from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, led by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in the state, Mr. Lawrence Azubuike was present.
Senator Eze gathered some people in a hotel where he reportedly declared himself the winner even when the process was still ongoing at the stadium. Onyeishi said he kept away from the exercise because some of the delegates who took part in earlier primaries were not allowed to participate in the gubernatorial primary election.
He said: “I am a loyal party man. Whatever the party decides to do, I will abide by that. But I want to make it clear that am opposed to what took place at the stadium.”
Few days after the exercises, an Enugu State High Court granted an ex-parte order restraining Senator Eze from parading himself as PDP gubernatorial candidate pending the hearing and determination of a case filed by Ugwuanyi.
It also restrained the PDP from recognising or submitting the name of any other person other than Hon. Ugwuanyi as its gubernatorial candidate in Enugu State for the February 2015 general elections.
The order, issued by Justice R. O Odogwu in Suit No E/499/2014 with Senator Eze and the PDP as first and second defendants, respectively, followed Senator Eze’s claim that he was the duly elected PDP candidate.
Enugu State PDP also denounced Eze’s claim, insisting that only one gubernatorial primary election held in Enugu state on December 8 and Hon. Ugwuanyi was the duly elected candidate. Enugu PDP said the hotel where Eze claimed to have been elected in another congress conducted by another set of delegates was not the official venue for the primary election, hence the absence of the PDP national panel, the party executives, and INEC at the purported primary.
The party queried: “Since the bodies authorised by the party, the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2010 to organise, supervise and observe primary elections were all absent, which ballot papers, result sheets, and certificate of return did Senator Eze use?
“Senator Eze also admitted that it was the delegates who were supposed to vote at the primary election that conducted his purported primary election. Who certified and accredited the delegates? Do our laws, party constitution and guidelines for primary elections permit aspirants to just assemble a handful of rented passers-by to assume both the roles of delegates, election organisers, returning officers, INEC, etc. and declare themselves winners?”
Senator Eze, had within the brief period filled a process where he wanted the court to stop the PDP from submitting Ugwuanyi’s name as its candidate for the state, but it was still a mere process, not yet sat upon by the court, when Eze went on air to claim that court had restrained PDP from submitting Ugwuanyi’s name.
But the PDP countered that saying there was no court order restraining it from submitting Ugwuanyi’s name to INEC. Enugu State PDP Publicity Secretary, Dr. Okey Eze, described the reports as “mischief by inordinate power seekers who would stop at nothing to undo the will of the people as duly and freely expressed during the December 8 gubernatorial primary election in the state.”
The PDP said: “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no injunction whatsoever restraining the PDP from submitting the name of its validly elected candidate, Hon. Ugwuanyi, to the INEC. For the avoidance of doubts, there are two cases on the Enugu gubernatorial primary pending before Justice S.E. Chukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja and both cases were heard on Thursday, December 18. The first is Senator Eze vs. PDP in which Hon. Ugwuany was joined following an application by his counsel, P.I.N. Ikwueto, SAN. The second case is Dr. Samuel Onyishi vs. PDP.
“The fact is that Senator Eze’s initial application for an ex-parte order to restrain the PDP from submitting Hon. Ugwuanyi’ name to INEC was refused by the court as he was asked to put the PDP and INEC on notice.
“At the resumption of the case on Thursday, December 18, PDP, through its counsel, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, filed a preliminary objection to the effect that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the suit, relying on the case of Senator Lado vs. Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, where the Supreme Court held that where there are parallel primaries, the party, and not the court, is to decide which primary to accept.
“The preliminary objection also raises the issue that Senator Eze had no locus standi to contest the outcome of the primary election since he did not participate in it.”
Noting that “one of the problems Senator Eze’s case faces is that the National Gubernatorial Primary Election Panel for Enugu State as well as INEC, were not present at Ayogu’s purported primary election, which venue he fixed himself and held at Filbon Hotel, Enugu.” Eze explained that the case was fixed for January 14, 2015 for hearing of the Motion on Notice for the application injunction, the preliminary objection filed by the PDP, and the main suit itself.
On the suit filed by Dr. Samuel Onyishi against the PDP, challenging the outcome of the governorship primary election, Eze said that “although Dr. Onyishi’s counsel, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, had asked the court to make an interim order restraining the PDP from submitting Hon. Ugwuanyi’s name to the INEC, at no time did the court grant any such request.
“An application for an injunction does not amount to an order of injunction; and until such an order of injunction is made, there is nothing in law restraining the PDP from performing the act against which the order is being sought.”
Enugu PDP, therefore called on Nigerians, especially its faithful, to disregard the “deliberate mischief because the party’s flag they handed over to Hon. Ugwanyi will continue to fly higher.”
In the same vein, a PDP chieftain and son of the late Chief C. C. Onoh, Dr. Josef Onoh, carpeted Senator Eze over his claim that he won the PDP gubernatorial primary conducted on December 8.
Onoh said Eze only won the primary for the contest of a governor of Filbon Hotel in Enugu, in which Eze was the only contestant, describing as wishful thinking and Eze’s imagination that he will stand for the February 2015 governorship election in the state under PDP platform, noting that PDP only produced Hon. Ugwuanyi as its candidate in a duly conducted primary election that took place at Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium Enugu on December 8.
Fear, however arose before the close of submission of candidate’s name to INEC last week that there were two different result sheets for the December 8 PDP gubernatorial primaries conducted in the state. State PDP chairman, Mr. Ikeje Asogwa, petitioned the police, alleging that Senator Eze forged a result sheet of the primary and gave himself victory.
Asogwa, asked the police to arrest Senator Eze with immediate effect, alarming that Senator Eze plotted to truncate the party’s successful primary election with forged documents.
Senator Eze in his own account, has accused PDP members of plotting to put him in jail after he disobeyed court order that restrained him from parading himself as PDP candidate. Since then, Eze is said to be in hiding but has continued with his claim, supporting it with a video that he circulates on YouTube.
It remains to be seen how the PDP will resolve this imbroglio which seems to characterise its primaries across the country.
credit: National mirror
