PDP can’t present Udom Emmanuel as candidate to INEC – The Nation newspaper

Gov. Akpabio (L) with Udom Emmanuel ..... Did they rigged themselves into a fix?

An ex parte order and a petition appear to have become obstacles in the quest of former Akwa Ibom State Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Udom Emmanuel, to fly the flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in next February’s elections, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU of The Nation newspaper.
When names of governorship candidates are submitted by political parties to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) later this week, the name of Udom Emmanuel, former Akwa Ibom State Secretary to the State Government (SSG), is bound to be missing, unless the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman Adamu Mu’azu does not mind being jailed for contempt of court. Last Thursday, Justice Y. Halilu of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) restrained Mu’azu and the PDP from submitting Emmanuel’s name or the name of any other person as the winner of the PDP governorship primary in Akwa Ibom State. After giving the order, Justice Halilu adjourned the substantive suit till January 5, 2015 because of the Christmas and New Year break.

Until then, the propriety or otherwise of the December 8 primary in which Emmanuel was declared winner is suspect.

The kernel of the suit filed by a PDP chieftain and governorship aspirant, Ime Effiong Ekanem, is also the subject of a petition by the 22 PDP governorship aspirants to Mua’zu and the PDP leadership. The petition dated December 9 described the primary, which produced Emmanuel, though broadcast live on television, as a “sham” and “scam”.

In the petition, the aspirants, which include two men who served Governor Godswill Akpabio as deputy, Nsima Ekere and Patrick Ekpotu, said the primary violated the party’s rule on accreditation of delegates. They said no delegate was accredited at the venue of the primary, adding that they were told by the chairman of the Electoral Panel that the accreditation of delegates was done at the Government House, where the delegates were conveyed in buses to the venue of the poll. They alleged that unqualified persons were smuggled into the venue as delegates, thus rubbishing the process. The non-accreditation of delegates, they said, broke the 19th paragraph of the Electoral guidelines.

The aggrieved men said the delegates’ list was contrived because there was no proper election of delegates from the ward level on November 1.

Another issue the aggrieved have against Emmanuel’s emergence is that delegates were not given ballot papers in public glare to vote during the election. They said the delegates arrived the venue with already marked ballot papers and only deposited them in the boxes when it was time to vote.  They also alleged that their agents were not accredited to be part of the exercise. Their prayer to the court and the party is simple: cancel the exercise. 

They said: “It is our prayer that the fraudulent exercise, herein complained of, be nullified for the sake of the party’s credibility and a transparent process be deployed for the emergence of a gubernatorial candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State.

“The enormity of a combination of the above irregularities on the entire Gubernatorial Primary Election and the ultimate fortunes of the party in general election cannot be over emphasized. We believe that your intervention, can save us from the avoidable cataclysm we are won’t to face if this fraud is condoned.”

Instituting a court case after petitioning the party and the Appeal Panel, said a source, was borne out of their belief that they might not get justice from the party, which agreed with Akpabio to zone the governorship to Eket when elders such as former Governor Victor Attah and former Minister Don Etiebet were calling for open contest.

The group, which has visited the Wadata House headquarter of the party severally to register their grievances, said they have only received “minimal attention” from the party’s leadership. This, said Ekanem, was why he headed for the court, adding that the PDP has not found it necessary to address their grievances with the urgency it requires given the time limit allowed by the Electoral Act for candidates to be forwarded to INEC.

He said: “I cannot allow the will of majority of Akwa Ibom people to be swept under the carpet as if they do no matter. Democracy is the government of the people by the people. Therefore, we will not allow a few people to impose their will against the interest and the overall good of the people.

“It is the will of the good people of Akwa Ibom that the process of electing their leaders must be transparent, credible and civil. That was not what was witnessed on December 8 in Uyo. We say no to a system that attempts to subvert the will of the people. This struggle is not our personal struggle but that of every Nigerian who believes in democracy, in the purity of its meaning and essence.”

Akpabio has continued to insist the process which produced Emmanuel was transparent. He congratulated the Chairman of the Electoral Panel of PDP, Mr. Bola Ayebowale and members of the PDP for a successful conduct of the primaries, adding that Emmanuel’s victory was assured.

The governor said more than 99 per cent of PDP faithful in the state came out to vote, stressing that the state would do the same by giving President Goodluck Jonathan their full support in 2015. Akpabio added that the transparency of the election was an indication that peace thrives in the state.

Emmanuel said the people have ushered him into the next level, thanking Akpabio and the people for coming out en-mass to support him. He lauded the PDP for the peaceful conduct of the primary.

Oyebowale also said the process was transparent, explaining that PDP believes in a level-playing ground for all aspirants.

By their suit and petition, the aspirants have queried the process Oyebowale, Akpabio and Emmanuel have spoken so glowingly about. Will the court agree with them? That will be known on January 5. But until then and as a result of the injunction, the PDP cannot present a valid candidate from Akwa Ibom State to INEC. Doing so will mean risking having Mua’zu committed to the prison.

The waiting game has started and while many will be busy enjoying the Christmas and New Year break, the aggrieved aspirants and the governor’s camp will be busy perfecting how to convince the judge to look their way.

Culled from The Nation