Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, yesterday dedicated to the people of Abia State his victory at the Supreme Court yesterday in the appeal filed against him by Sampson Ogah and Friday Nwosu challenging his election as governor.
The court, in a unanimous judgment by a five-member panel, held that the appeals filed by Ogah and Nwosu lacked merit.
Speaking at Government House, Umuahia after a thanksgiving service to mark the victory, Ikpeazu thanked the people of Abia State for standing by him all through the period of litigations, describing the victory as a reaffirmation of the mandate given to him by the people and now twice confirmed by the Supreme Court.
Ikpeazu said that only God could take the glory for the victory while he commended the judiciary for standing firm on the side of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He thanked the churches, youths and traditional rulers for standing by him throughout the long judicial journey, saying “this victory is a call for us to re-dedicate ourselves to the total rebuilding of our dear state.”
Describing the judgment as victory for all and “a blow to the aspirations of those who want to disunite us,” he called on all Abians to join hands with him to ensure accelerated growth and development of the state.
He said: “The time for politics is long over, and I have forgiven all those that were bent on distracting me.
“This is the time for our state to be developed and all who have the interest of our state should feel free to come and join hands with us to move the state forward.
“I have forgiven my opponents during the long battle at both the election and the courts, and I urge my supporters to do the same for peace to reign in our state, which will in turn enable us to move to the next level.
“Let all well-meaning Abians, including my opponents, come and join us to grow and develop our state without distractions, as we ultimately have stakes in the growth and development of our state and people.
“All those who went into the trenches to fight the mandate that was freely given to me by the people of Abia State, I call on them to sheath their swords and come and join hands with us to develop the state to an enviable height.
“If anyone means well for the state, this is the time for such people to come forward with their ideas so that together we can move our state forward to where other states have gone to after election.
“Two years after the gubernatorial elections, other states have moved forward except Abia State, as those who never meant well for our state have taken me to court.
“With this victory, it is now time to join and move above them in terms of development.
“Today, there is the work of Abia to be done, and history will judge us by how much of that work we do, not by how much politics we play as time for politics and election are far gone.
“My doors are open to all. My ears are open to hear and my eyes are strong enough to read suggestions on how we can best deliver greater dividends to those who really matter in the state.”
Unanimous judgment
In a unanimous judgment by a five-member panel, the court held that the appeals by Ogah and Nwosu were unmeritorious.
Justice Ejembi Eko, who read the lead judgment prepared by Justice Musa Datijo Mohammed, awarded N250,000 cost against the appellants and in favour of Ikpeazu and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Supreme Court held that the appellants did not prove their cases at the trial court.
In his supporting judgment, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, who led the panel, expressed displeasure at the desperation on the part of politicians to always win.
He said there was security breach in the case as some parties in the appeals tried to influence court’s officials to know what the court’s decision would be and who was writing the judgment.
The judgment was on three separate appeals which were decided together. Ogah filed two appeals marked SC/717/2016 and SC/719/2016, while Nwosu’s single appeal was marked SC/739/2016.
Justice Eko said: “The plaintiff at the trial court (Ogah) failed to prove the substance of his application.
“The appellant’s germane issue is hereby resolved against him. The appeal, being without merit, is hereby dismissed at the cost of N250,000 to the 2nd and 3rd respondents each to be paid by the appellant (Ogah).”
In his contribution, Justice Onoghen, who said he led the panel that heard the appeals, noted that the two appeals by Ogah originated from the same judgment.
The CJN disagreed with the Court of Appeal on the mode of commencing the case at the trial court.
He said the Federal High Court was right to have allowed the suit to be commenced by way of originating summons, because the case could be determined by the facts before the court.
He agreed with the Court of Appeal that the plaintiff/appellant was wrong not to have exhibited, before the trial court, the electoral guidelines of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), which he sought to be interpreted to enable the court exercise its jurisdiction properly.
The CJN said: “We agreed that originating summons proceedings was proper, but we said he ought to have exhibited the guideline for the court to look at.
“The next issue is simply whether the appellant established his case against the respondent. The answer is completely no, as found by the lower court.
“The plaintiff/appellant said the tax information was false. But nobody is disputing the fact that he (the 1st respondent – Ikpeazu), at the time material to this dispute about tax or no tax, was a government employee.
“It is also common knowledge to everybody that as a government employee, your tax is deducted from source. These are not facts that are disputed. They give you tax certificate at the end of the day. You are not the person who prepare the tax or certificate. You are only given a tax clearance.
“If at the end of the year they send me my tax clearance and there are irregularities in it, why should I be held responsible? The long and short of it is that this case was a no case. It was a storm in a tea cup.”
On the appeal by Nwosu, he said the Court of Appeal was right in its decision that the appellant’s application to be made a party at the trial court was not an abuse of court process.
He said by virtue of the provision of Section 87(9) of the Electoral Act, every contestant at a party’s primary election has a right to challenge its outcome.
Onnoghen carpets political class
Commenting after the judgment, Justice Onnoghen said: “There is the need for members of the political class to really examine themselves in the present dispensation and to save and protect democracy in this country.
“Democracy is nothing but the rule of law. And under constitutional democracy, everybody is supposed to understand the rule of law and abide by it.
“It is the only way by which we can have an organised, orderly society. It is not by way of culture of impunity that has been imported into our psyche and reality on ground. That is wrong.
“The trend is dangerous. Whether we pretend to be blind or deaf, it is too glaring and, it is shouting loud and clear.
“There is no problem that the politicians are in charge of the executive and legislature. But, please, keep away from the Judiciary. Stay away from the Judiciary, because now, you are there, doing whatever you are doing.
“But, don’t forget that at the end of the day, you will move from that position and exchange it with somebody else.
“And if there is no independent Judiciary, governed and protected by the rule of law and the Constitution, I don’t think you have any hope.
“So, please stop interfering with the Judiciary. I have to say this because it is becoming too much.
“It is only during political cases that the Judiciary comes under all this unnecessary castigation and smearing of mud.
“My mission is to re-establish the fact that you don’t need to know a judge to have judgment. Neither should you know the wife or the brother or a sister or a relation of a judge to have judgment.
“But, you must know that the law is supreme and will always remain supreme. If you are stupid enough to be talking about giving bribe and things like that, you are on your own.
“At the end of the day, the law will take its course. And when it does, you have to take it as it is because that is what it is, particularly from the Supreme Court’s bench.
“I want to let you know that there has been security breach in this case. And I don’t like it. And it should not repeat itself. And we will investigate, because it is a serious security breach.
“Why should you be interested in what we decide? You filed your case and got your lawyers to argue your case. Why should you bribe court officials to know what the judgment is or who is writing the judgment?
“The problem we are facing in the Judiciary is that of the politicians and its is the problem of perception by the public. Nobody ever thinks he can win a case again solely on the fact of the case. Every body is now thinking of bribe. What is happening?
“Why should it continue like this? If the politician cannot keep his house together in the political party where he belongs and decided to come to court, shouldn’t the politician leave the court alone to do what it has to do?”
He cautioned politicians against being desperate, urging them to learn to conduct themselves in orderly manner, respect the wish of the electorate and abide by the decision of the court should they have reason to come before the court.
He also asked them to desist from trying to blackmail the court or influence its decisions.
The CJN added: “If the court doesn’t exist and it is not doing what it should do, know that there will be no society called Nigeria.”
Like Amaechi, like Ikpeazu
He said the Ikpeazu case was similar to that of the former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, where allegations were made but with the plaintiff being unable to supply evidence to support his case.
Justice Onnoghen appealed to politicians to allow the Judiciary to do its work. He said the Supreme Court would investigate how the security breach in the Ikpeazu case came about and ensure that those behind it were brought to book.
He said unlike a similar case in the past where a Senator influenced some court officials to leak court judgment to him and only the court officials got punished, those who sought to have this judgment leaked to them would also be penalised.
Ogah, who lost in the PDP primary of 2014 accused Ikpeazu of submitting false tax information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the suit he filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, in a judgment on June 27, 2016 found Ikpeazu guilty of tax offences, sacked him and ordered INEC to issue Certificate of Return to Ogah.
Ikpeazu appealed to the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which in a judgement on 27 August, 2016, set aside the Federal High Court’s judgment, a decision Ogah appealed to the Supreme Court.
After the Federal High Court’s judgment, Nwosu, who came 3rd in the primary also sought to be declared winner on the ground that Ogah had condemned the outcome of the primary and should not be allowed to benefit from the outcome of a process he condemned.
Ohanaeze charges Ikpeazu to be magnanimous in victory
The youth wing of Igbo socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday hailed the Supreme Court judgment which affirmed Dr Okezie Ikpeazu as the governor of Abia State.
In a press statement signed by the President of the Ohanaeze Youth Council, OYC, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the group described the Supreme Court’s decision as “a victory for the entire people of Abia State.”
“We congratulate Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and the people of Abia State on the Supreme Court judgment today, which has finally laid to rest the contest for the governorship seat.
“With this development, we believe that the governor can now fully concentrate on providing quality leadership in Abia State, having survived this two-year legal tussle, with its attendant distractions.
“We urge him to now concentrate especially on the area of promoting “Made in Aba” products, which has put the state on world map.
“His plan to industrialize Abia State should now be put on speed gear in order to absorb the teeming unemployed youths,” Isiguzoro stated.
As a non-partisan organisation, Isiguzoro said, “the Ohanaeze is in full embrace of all the parties. So, there is no victor and there no vanquished. All the players in this contest are sons of Igboland, and for that reason, they remain equal partners in the victory.
“To this effect, we urge Governor Ikpeazu to waive the olive branch to all the people involved in the legal tussle. He should be magnanimous in victory.
“We also ask the persons concerned to accept Ikpeazu’s hand of fellowship and work with the governor for the rapid development of Abia State. The governor is on course and for that reason deserves the support of all to deliver more on this mandate.”
Aba agog over judgment
Ikpeazu’s supporters yesterday trooped out in their numbers in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, to celebrate the victory of the governor at the Supreme Court.
At about 10 am when the news of the victory broke, there were sounds of fireworks and cannons at both Aba North and South local government headquarters.
When our reporter visited the Aba South LGA, the road leading to the local government secretariat, which also serves as a major road to Aba Main Park, was closed down as jubilant Ikpeazu supporters danced round the arena to the music from various musical groups.
Prominent among elated supporters of Ikpeazu whose joy over the victory at the Supreme Court knew no bounds was Hon. Eziuche Ubani, a close associate of the governor and Commissioner for Works.
At about 12 pm, the convoy of victorious Ikpeazu rode into Aba amidst jubilation from some residents and supporters from Abia South who came to welcome him.
The governor later left for his country home, Umuobiakwa in Obingwa LGA through Aba-Ikot Ikpene Expressway and Ururuka Road, where he was later received by his kinsmen.
Thereafter, he went into a closed door meeting with some of the people that came back with him.
Umahi, South East PDP hail judgment
Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State and the National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, South East Zone, Austin Umahi, described the Supreme Court judgment that affirmed the election of Governor Ikpeazu as the triumph of good over evil.
Umahi, in his congratulatory message to Ikpeazu and entire people of Abia State, described the victory as expected, especially when it was obvious that there seemed to be conspiracy in the high places to scuttle the mandate the people of the state freely gave Ikpeazu in the 2015 governorship election.
He described the Supreme Court judgment as a landmark victory for democracy in Nigeria and Abia State in particular, adding that Governor Ikpeazu had experienced lots of distractions since he assumed office.
He said: “I congratulate you my dear brother on this landmark victory at the apex court today (yesterday).
“Your victory was a clear confirmation of your acceptance by the people of the state, hence your overwhelming victory at the polls.
“Your election was greeted with so many litigation and in all, God upheld your hand high in victory, and today, you stand tall before your foes and they came trembling before your God.”
Also in his reaction, the National Vice Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South East zone, Chief Austin Umahi described the Supreme Court judgment that upheld Ikpeazu election as confirmation of victory for the masses and PDP as a party.
Chief Umahi said the judgment had further vindicated the position of the party that there is no other political party that can win election in the zone than PDP.
“The judgment of the apex court on the Abia governorship election is a welcome development and we as a party are very happy that today, the judiciary has prided itself as the true and last hope for the common man.
“We accept the judgment as the confirmation of the will of the people which they exercised freely in favour of our party, PDP and Governor Ikpeazu in the 2015 governorship election.
“We wish to thank all Abians and members of our great party, PDP, for their steadfastness during the trying moments when the mandate given to our party was being put to trial by some elements that wanted to achieve victory through the backdoor.”
