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Tag: Senator Annie Okonkwo

  • Court affirms candidacy of Ubah, Oduah, others for 2015 elections

    Court affirms candidacy of Ubah, Oduah, others for 2015 elections

    A Federal High Court in Abuja Friday upheld the candidacy of former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, Senator Andy Ubah and others for last year’s national and state legislative election in Anambra State.

    Justice Adeniyi Ademola, in a judgment Friday, held that the list of candidates, containing the name of Oduah, Andy Ubah and others, submitted to the Independent National Executive Committee (NEC) of the People’s Democratic Party was the authentic list of candidates.

    The judgment was on a suit by Senator Annie Okonkwo, Chukwunedum Chris Ubah and 42 others, who were listed as candidates in the list submitted to INEC by the Abia State Executive Committee of the PDP.

    The plaintiffs had among others, challenged the decision of INEC to substitute their names earlier published on INEC’s website prior to the election with those contained in the list submitted to it by the party’s NEC.

    They urged the court to void INEC’s decision to replace their names with those of Oduah, Andy Ubah and others.

    In his judgment Friday, Justice Ademola resolved the four issues he identified for determination against the plaintiff.

    The judge faulted the plaintiffs’ contention that INEC having published their names first, it could not replace them with a list of other people without a valid order of court.

    Justice Ademola said the mere publication of the plaintiffs’ names on INEC’s website was without any legal consequences and did not qualify them to be regarded as the authentic candidates of the party.

    “The state Executive of a party or any organ of the party at the state level lacks the power to sponsor candidates. It is only the primary election conducted by the National Executive or their delegates that can validly conduct primary to produce its candidates.

    “The 1st to 44 plaintiffs were not the through candidates of the 17the defendant (PDP), but products of illegally contrived primary by the Anambra PDP, which is a complete illegality,” the judge said.

    Justice Ademola, who referred to the January 29, 2016 judgment and February 24, 2016 ruling of the Supreme Court on similar issues involving parties in the case, held that the apex court’s judgment and ruling were not in favour of the plaintiffs in this case.

    The judge, who also referred to an earlier judgment by the late Justice Evoh Chukwu (also of the Federal High Court, Abuja), said the judgment only upheld the legitimacy of the Ejike Oguebego-led state Executive of the PDP in Anambra.

    Justice Ademola held that the fact that Justice Chukwu’s judgment upheld the legitimacy of Oguebego-state EXCO of the PDP in Anambra State does not confer on it the power to nominate candidates for the party.

    He said political parties, being national organisations, the power to nominate/select candidates for a party resides with its National Executive Council, not the state Executive Council.

    He dismissed the suit, but made no order as to cost.

  • Emeka, Okonkwo, others storm  INEC for certificates of  return

    Emeka, Okonkwo, others storm  INEC for certificates of  return

    Senator Annie Okonkwo, Senator John Emeka and others stormed the Headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Abuja Wednesday demanding for their certificates of return.

    Though they met with INEC officials after a long wait nothing came out of it, but they vowed to return to the commission Thursday.

    The action stem from the out coming of last week Supreme Court which resolved the leadership crisis in the Anambra State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the favour of the Ejike Oguebego faction which conducted primaries for the affected persons.

    Speaking on their presence at the commission, Senator Emeka said they were in INEC with the aim of collecting their certificate of returns.

    He however said that they were able to meet with the legal counsel of the commission and the Secretary, Mrs Augusta Ogakwu.

    The officials he said told them they were going through the judgment paper.

    He said, “What we have come here to do today is to collect our certificates of return as the winners of the elections.  I have to be here tomorrow also to see if the certificates are ready.”

    When asked if it was the commission that asked them to come back, he said “I want to believe that the commission is working on this and Nigerians are waiting to see what the commission is going to do. Look I don’t have any doubt in my mind that the commission will take the right step. The right step, being obeying court orders. In every democracy the rule of law must prevail.

    I understand that there is scheduled engagement and I am not going to stampede the chairman. I have to respect his office and there are appointments already set up. I am satisfied with the set of people I met. I met the legal counsel, the secretary and a national commissioner and they assured me that they are working on it.

    “I believe there is an end to litigation any other steps they are taking is trying to ridicule the commission. We had rumour about going for interpretation; I don’t know what that means. ”

    When asked if they intend to take other steps should the commission refuse to issue them the certificates of return, Emeka said the Supreme Court has spoken and that is the end of the matter. He also said they do not intend to take the law into their hands as they are law abiding people.

    He stressed that no other step is open to the commission having lost the opportunity at the lower court.
    Only on Monday, Chief Chris Uche, (SAN) wrote INEC demanding the  release of certificates of returns to Chief Chris Uba, Senator Annie Okonkwo, Senator John Emeka and 41 others.

    This is coming on the heel of last week’s Supreme Court Judgment.

    The apex court, in a unanimous judgment by a five-man bench upheld Ejike Oguebego led executive committee of the party against the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

    Uche was the counsel to the Oguebego faction at the court.

    In his letter addressed to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, titled “Compliance with judgement of Supreme Court Anambara state PDP National Assembly Candidates SC/37/2015-Ejike Oguebego and Anor vs Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)” dated 29th January 2016,  Uche stated that the effect of the Supreme Court judgment is that those who were not part of the list of candidates produced by the congress/primary elections under the watch of Oguebego and his executive committee ought and must vacate the positions they presently occupy on the ground that they were not validly nominated.
    Already, there is confusion over the fate of the present members of the National Assembly on the list of the other faction of the party.

    The names of Chris Ubah, Annie Okonkwo and 42 others were replaced following the Appeal court judgment of 6th February 2015, prior to the 2015 general elections.

    Uche who is the counsel to affected candidates on the list of Oguebego in his letter to the electoral body stated further that now that the apex court has finally settled this matter, it was the responsibility of INEC to enforce and comply with the said judgement.

  • We’ll strengthen APC in Anambra , says Okonkwo

    Deputy National Chairman, South,All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Annie Okonkwo yesterday said he remains in the party because only APC can salvage Nigeria.

    The senator, who spoke at a stakeholders meeting in Awka, said “after a proper study of what Nigeria is facing today, especially insecurity and unemployment, it is important we keep sentiment and personal interest aside and save our nation.”

    Okonkwo, who represented Anambra Central in the National Assembly in 2007, was suspended by the party. He was alleged to have been involved in anti-party activities during the November 16 governorship election.

    On his suspension, he said: “After investigation by the party, they found out I was not involved in anti-party activities, that is to say APC is a party that stands for truth. All the things they said about me have been investigated.

    Okonkwo, who was a governorship aspirant for the November 16 election, stressed that politics was not war, saying you cannot stop talking to your friend because he is not in the same party with you.

    “If there are three persons spending money on politics, I am among them. I am not in politics because of money. Good things do not come easy and that is why we must unite to finish what we started. APC is our party, it is not anybody’s personal property.

    Okonkwo added: “Our congress is coming up this week and we cannot fold our arms and allow the party we invested in die in Anambra.

    ‘’ Second, we cannot fold our arms and watch our youths suffer. Some youths died when they went to write Immigration test. We cannot continue like this.

    “We must work together to promote our party because it is the only party that can salvage this country. It is the only party that has the people at heart,” the senator said.

  • ‘No going back on Igbo presidency’

    • Okonkwo

    The President of Committee21 (C21), Southeast’s non-political organisation, which was established to push the Igbo agenda, Senator Annie Okonkwo, has said the Igbo would settle for nothing less than the presidency in 2015.

    The Senator who spoke with The Nation in Lagos noted that the purported moves by some prominent Igbo politicians to adopt President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 poll was against the overall interest of the Igbo people.

    He said: “The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has already made it clear that it will present a candidate for the 2015 election. The chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh, expressed this in strong terms. If the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) decides to adopt Jonathan, let it be; that is a party affair, but as for the people of the Southeast, we are determined to push for Igbo presidency.”

    The Senator said that despite moves by some divisive element in the actualisation of the Igbo agenda, it will come up stronger because the people are behind the dream. “The C21, market women, Okada riders, elders, all religious groups and every Igbo man are involved in this struggle and they are all connected to C21. And the membership of C21 cuts across political lines and our objectives are very clear.”

    Reacting to Governor Peter Obi’s alleged support for Dr. Jonathan, Okonkwo said Obi was merely playing his role as governor and did not express the stance of the Southeast: “With due respect, he is a governor and he, as an individual, has his own views. The way it is today, everything is decided by the party; he is not in control of the party, he is not in the party machinery and of course he is not in control of any organisation that he will speak for the Igbo. He is just there in that capacity as the governor. And of course, if he decides to go and support Jonathan, that his is own wish.”

    Explaining further, he said as governor of a state with his function and responsibilities, he was playing his role. “That he is the governor does not mean that he will forge the path for the Igbo people. He is not the chairman of a political party which should put him in the position of speaking for the party. The chairman of APGA has made it very clear that the Igbo would field a candidate for the 2015 election. APGA has been adopted as a political party for all the Igbo.”

    The former senator who was until recently a member of PDP maintained that APGA was capable of coming up with credible candidates who can conveniently run the affairs of the country in presidential capacity. “We have credible candidates and people with high integrity who are interested in occupying the number-one position. And as far as we are concerned in respect of the presidency, the Igbo people are still consulting in respect of the kind of candidate we are going to present. The candidate we will present will be acceptable by Nigerians,” he said.

    Though APGA has its stronghold in the east, this, according to the senator, is not a major threat; rather, it would throw up new friendship through alliances with those who share Igbo agenda. He said: “As far as I am concerned there are going to be some alliances, and of course the Igbo are everywhere. They are spread all over the country; it is the only tribe that is fully spread everywhere. They are well numbered in Kano, Kaduna and other parts of the country. But still, I believe there are going to be alliances with people who share the same vision with us.”

    Given previous alliances which have always offered the Southeast the position of Vice President or other lesser position, the senator stressed that it was not going to be business as usual because 2015 is a project that all the kith and kin of Igbo stock are committed to.

    Okonkwo said further: “As far as I am concerned today, the Igbo have made it clearl they will not play second fiddle. The truth of the matter is that today, we are nowhere; we are not even the second or third. The truth of the matter is that whatever anybody is telling you, we want to make our position very clearly to demonstrate that we have the capacity and we are united for this purpose.”

    Drawing from the spread advantage of the Igbo who are resident in every community in Nigeria, he said that would give it a lead to make the Presidency aspiration realistic. “Despite this advantage, the position we have found ourselves is not right, but we are going to correct this.”

    President Jonathan who recently commissioned some projects in the Southeast and promised to complete the Second Niger Bridge was applauded for paying attention to the infrastructural development of the zone.

    Though it was said this would ensure support for the president’s bid, according to the senator, this will not make them change their position: “That is democracy; do for the east what is due for them. The east has been neglected for quite long. Even if the president goes beyond what government is supposed to do, that does not change our mind. We are set to achieve what we want to achieve, even if he puts all the gold and how are we sure this will not go like one of those promises others had made in the past?

    “Many presidents have come to make promises. They had come with promises of sea port and other projects, but the moment they realise their ambition, the Igbo are neglected. This time around, we are not going to fall for those white elephant projects and empty promises. I do remember the talk about sea port which has been on right from the Shehu Shagari regime. The roads are in terrible condition, so we want to see a practical development.”