Protest rocks Abia over sack of Labour Party senator by Appeal Court (+Photos)
Protest, Monday, erupted in Umuahia, the Abia State capital as members of the Labour Party, marched through major streets to register their dissatisfaction over the sack of the Senate Minority Whip and Senator representing Abia Central, Senator Darlington Nwokocha (LP).
Darlington Nwokocha
News Direct had reported that the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos on Saturday sacked Senator Nwokocha, and declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Col. Austin Akobundu (retd.), the winner of the February 25 senatorial poll in the Abia Central district.
The protesters, led by the Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Austin Meregini, vehemently rejected the judgment, and called for its review.
They also demanded a thorough investigation of members of the panel that handed down the judgment.
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The protesters, who chanted songs in solidarity with the ousted Senator and LP, carried placards with various inscriptions, such as Judicial impunity must stop, “We voted for Darlington Nwokocha and not Col. Austin Akobundu”, “Darlington’s mandate must be recovered”, among others.
Addressing the mammoth crowd of protesters and party supporters, the LP Chairman in the state, Mr Ceekay Igara, described the judgment as a rape of democracy and a robbery of the people’s mandate.
He said that the judiciary should not be allowed to change the decisions of the people on the grounds of frivolous technicalities.
Igara said that the people of the constituency were not happy and had complained bitterly.
The LP Chairman wondered why the panel of the appeal that sacked Nwokocha also upheld the election of the member representing Isiala Ngwa North and South Federal Constituency, Chief Ginger Onwusibe, who had a similar case with him.
“We are demanding the details of the judgement to enable our lawyers to study and decide on the next line of action.”
Igara said that the party would not allow the mandate of Abia Central constituents to be stolen through the back door.
He called on lovers of democracy to help protect Nigeria’s democracy against siege by political desperados.
Igara appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to allow greedy politicians to destroy Nigeria’s democracy for personal aggrandizement.
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