Politics
Disquiet among Ndigbo as Ohanaeze elects new leaders today
- Factional heads emerge
There is tension among Igbo leaders in the South-East and others parts of Nigeria over the election of a new president-general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other executive members of the group scheduled to hold today, January 10, 2021.
Already, opposing interests are said to have elected or are warming up to elect parallel officials of the organisation.
A former Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Prof. George Obiozor, is favoured to emerge as the next PG of the group in the election holding today in Owerri, Imo State.
Obiozor’s chances became brighter when other top contenders for the office reportedly withdrew on allegation of irregularities in the process.
Before now, the electoral committee set up by the outgoing executive led by Chief Nnia Nwodo had thrown up six aspirants jostling to take over the baton of leadership from Nwodo when his tenure ends on January 21. They include Prof George Obiozor, Dr Joe Nworgu, Dr Chris Asoluka, Prof Chidi Osuagwu, Chief Goddy Uwazurike and Prof Nnaemeka Obiaraeri.
It is said to be the turn of Imo State to produce the next PG of the organisation. So, all the known aspirants for the top position are from the state.
An indication that all is not well came on Saturday when Uche Okwukwu led a faction to elect a parallel executive.
Also on Saturday, a report came that a former commissioner in Imo State, Engr Chidi Ibeh, had emerged the factional President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
According to the report, Ibeh emerged during a parallel election organised by the Prince Richard Ozobu-led election committee.
They also claimed to have elected Dim Uche Okwukwu as the Deputy President General and Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, from Abia State, as the Secretary General.
Okwukwu from Rivers State was the Secretary-General of the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation who had resisted his alleged suspension.
Many other aspirants have also reportedly disassociated themselves from today’s main election.
A top contender, Prof Chidi Osuagwu, said today’s election would outcome amount to a nullity.
He stated this at a press conference on Saturday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, adding that the Ohanaeze Ndigbo election process did not follow constitutional guidelines.
He said, “There is no official statement on nomination forms, yet some people have paid and names drawn up for LGA elections that did not hold anywhere. There are no official lists of national General Assembly statutory members and the ones that are associated with states, as required by the Ohanaeze Constitution.”
According to him, the election will be held outside the constitution, adding that any election held in contravention of the provisions of the constitution is illegal, null and void.
He said, “I’ve bought the forms for the candidacy at N500,000 which is very strange, considering that this is a socio-cultural organisation that service should be voluntary.
“Unfortunately, they have turned the exercise to a political party thing. We have a situation where people no longer distinguish between Ohanaeze Ndigbo as a socio-cultural organisation and political parties.”
A former Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Dr Joe Nworgu, was quoted as saying, “I am disassociating myself from the election because it is fret with irregularities and capable of putting Ohanaeze Ndigbo into crisis. I wouldn’t want an organisation we have laboured so much over the years to build to go down.”
But Nwodo has maintained that “no amount of innuendos and blackmail will deter Ohanaeze from bequeathing a virile leadership to Ndigbo.”
He once also said through his Media Adviser, Emeka Attama, “Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, under the leadership of Chief Nwodo, is committed to the inviolate tradition of conducting a free, fair and transparent election to usher in its successors in January 2021.”
Politics
Breaking: Supreme Court affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman
Breaking: Supreme Court affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman
The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, affirmed Mr. Sly Ezeokenwa as the authentic National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.
A five-member panel of the apex court, in two unanimous judgements, invalidated Chief Edozie Njoku’s claim to the national leadership position in the party.
It held that its earlier verdict on the appeal marked: SC/CV/687/2021, delivered on October 14, 2021 and corrected on March 24, 2023, which Chief Njoku purportedly relied on to lay claim to APGA Chairmanship, did not confer any enforceable rights on him.
In the lead decision that was read by Justice Stephen Adah, the apex court stressed that the reliefs it granted on the protracted APGA leadership tussle, in 2021, were only declaratory and not executory.
The court noted that it particularly held that that issue of leadership or who becomes the Chairman of a political party, was an internal matter that is not justiciable.
Justice Adah held that it was wrong for Njoku to have gone before the lower court to enforce a judgement that had nothing to be enforced as no executory relief was granted to him.
He faulted the lower courts for wrongly relying on the previous decision of the Supreme Court to declare Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.
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Consequently, Justice Adah vacated the judgement the Court of Appeal in Abuja delivered on June 28, 2024, which upheld the verdict of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory that declared Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.
Besides, the Supreme Court awarded a fine of N20million each, against two members of the Njoku-led faction of APGA that were listed as 1st and 2nd respondents in the matter.
The court held that a third appeal relating to the APGA leadership tussle, would abide by its decision in the matter.
Breaking: Supreme Court affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman
Politics
Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats
Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats
Few days after governors on the platform of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) handed down an ultimatum for things to change in the party, the Acting National Chairman of the party, Umar Damagun has moved against the FCT Minister and his loyal lawmakers, the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Damagun in a letter addressed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) dated 13th November 2024 and released on Sunday by the spokesperson of the Opposition Lawmakers Coalition, Ikenga Ugochinyere urged the electoral umpire to conduct a bye-election to fill up the 27 seats, they vacated to join the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Wike has been accused of being behind the crisis in the PDP over his disagreement with the Rivers State governor, Sim Fubara, his successor.
The crisis which started over control of resources divided the party in the state with 27 lawmakers in the state assembly siding Wike and defected to the APC following Wike’s acceptance to serve in the government of the APC.
He has also been accused of working in cahoots with Damagun to damage the PDP by not organising the National Executive Committee which would lead to the acting Chairman’s ouster.
After a series of agitation, the latest being from the PDP Governors’ Forum over the weekend, Damagun has demanded that INEC conduct elections as soon as possible, apparently moving against the FCT minister.
He argued in letter titled, ‘DEMAND FOR IMMEDIATE CONDUCT OF FRESH ELECTION IN 27 STATE CONSTITUENCIES OF RIVERS STATE WHICH HAVE BECOME VACANT PURSUANT TO SECTION 109(1)(g) OF THE CONSTITUTION’ that it’s “unlawful” for the 27 members to defect.
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The members defected to the APC on December 11, 2023.
Damagun said, going by provisions of the Constitution, the lawmakers are no longer members of the Assembly.
The PDP acting chairman therefore urged the Commission to perform its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting fresh elections to fill the vacancies created in the 27 state constituencies by the unlawful act of the former Assembly members.
Parts of the letter read, “The Leadership of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to draw the attention of the Commission to the gross violation of Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) by 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly following their unlawful defection from our Party, the PDP who sponsored their elections to the All Progressive Congress (APC) on Monday, December 11, 2023.
“The Commission may recall that our Party, the PDP nominated all our 32 State House of Assembly candidates in Rivers State for the 2023 General Election on the 7th of July 2022 via your electronic candidate election nomination portal (See attached acknowledgement).
“The Commission may also recall that following the nomination, the Commission conducted election into the Rivers State House of Assembly on the 18th of March, 2023 and our Party won 32 seats in the state Assembly. The elected State House of Assembly members were inaugurated and sworn-in on June, 2023.
“However, on Monday, 11 December, 2023 a period of just six (6) months after inauguration, 27 out of the 32 members publicly announced their defection from our Party to the All Progressive Congress (APC). This defection is a gross violation of Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As amended).
“The only two grounds of division and merger provided for in the Constitution that permit such defection are completely non-existent in our political Party. It therefore means that the defections of the 27 members are without lawful excuse and these members have vacated their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly by the operations of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution.
“In view of the foregoing, we hereby demand that the Commission performs its constitutional duties and begin the process of conducting a Fresh Election to fill the vacancies created in the 27 State Constituencies by the unlawful act of the Assembly members. Find attached the list of the 27 State Assembly Members and their Constituencies.
“While thanking the Commission for its commitment to deepening democracy in our country, please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”
Damagun writes INEC to conduct by-election for 27 vacant Rivers assembly seats
Politics
Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe
Nigeria would have been better under Peter Obi, too much nepotism under Tinubu – Senator Abaribe
Nigeria would have been better than what it is currently if Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), had won the 2023 elections, the senator representing Abia South, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has said.
Abaribe, who spoke on ‘Politics Today,’ a Channels Television programme, on Monday, said Obi would not have been as nepotistic as the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“Number one, he would not be as nepotistic as this government; he won’t; it’s not in him. That is just who we are; we feel for the other people.”
The lawmaker called attention to Tinubu’s appointment of four ministers from Ogun alone, noting that many other states have just one.
“I say it, and I don’t think so. We are seeing it everyday. I just gave you one example. How can Ogun state have four ministers? Why does he favour Ogun state? Oyo state has only one minister,” Abaribe said.
”The nepotism of Buhari, which nobody followed, has now deepened under President Tinubu because Buhari did it, and nobody said much. I was the only person shouting.”
He said that rather than waiting for presidents to be fair to the people of the south-east, it is high time people of the zone went back to revamp it, make it more livable, better, and more cohesive.
“It’s obvious that if we continue to look at whoever becomes president, they will look at us and do us right. Apart from Obasanjo and maybe Jonathan, I do not think that we have seen that same type of fairness,” he said.
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