• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Group in Enugu called on INEC to ensure election holds on 9th March

election

The coalition of registered political parties in Enugu state have described the call to postponed Saturday’s election and the demanded for the resignation of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Enugu state, Emeka Ononamadu by All Progressive Congress governorship candidate Ayogu Eze as a call of a drowning man.

The group who addressed journalists in Enugu said the governorship candidate of APC who said a Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, restor him as the governorship candidate of the APC in the state should have intensified his campaign to see if people can vote for him instead of wasting his time protesting.

Briefing journalists, the Publics Relations Officer of the group Afam Ani said that Enugu is a peaceful place hence there is nothing to warrant the postponement of the election in a very peaceful state like Enugu.

“That the REC in Enugu has not done any thing wrong contrary to his duties that will demand for his removal,that he has not violated any part of the constitution of Nigeria , that he has been discharging his duties as it is stipulated in the constitution of Nigeria.

That the election must go on,that APC should go and campaign and convince people to vote for them and not going around carrying propaganda. “We the Registered Political Parties in Enugu say no to propaganda, we say no to intimidation in Enugu, we say no to tyranny in Enugu because it will not stand”.

They said that although they are from various political parties in the state,that Ugwuanyi as a governor stood out as one governor who brings every body together not minding which party one belongs, saying that,that singular act brought peace in Enugu state.

Also speaking, the chairman of Accord Party in Enugu said as far as he is concerned in Enugu PAC is a disorganised party, he however advised Eze to put more energy in uniting the party in Enugu first and stop carrying propaganda about.

Also speaking to journalists at the fourth day of stakeholders engagement on the state of preparedness of INEC for march 9th gubernatorial election, Enugu REC, Emeka Ononamadu said INEC in Enugu is ready for the Saturday election.

He described the allegation from some quarters that INEC in Enugu removed name of a candidate as a display of ignorant and poor knowledge of the system, he said that INEC doe’s not bring any candidate to contest any election, that it is the duty of a political party .
He also announced that all the sensitive materials for the Saturday election have been moved to INEC area offices and that refresher training is on going now for supervisory and presiding officers in Enugu to ensure that every thing move effectively.

In the previous stakeholders meeting INEC warned that parties should send only one member of the party to CBN for I section of materials because of space so that it would not be clouded and denied the allegations that some people were stopped from inspecting materials.

However, the All Progressives Congres in Enugu had earlier called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to postpone tomorrow’s governorship and state assembly elections in Enugu state.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had two weeks ago sacked Ayogu as the guber candidate while ordering INEC to replace him with George Ogara, who was challenging Ayogu’s nomination by the party.

But following Ayogu Eze’s appeal, the Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that Eze is the true candidate of the party.

In his ruling over the substantive suit by Eze challenging his removal by Federal High Court, the panel of judges led by Justice Abdu Aboki upheld the prayers of the appellant in which he prayed that he was the duly elected candidate of the party.

The appellate court ruled that “what happened at the lower court was a miscarriage of justice as Ogara has no case in the first place.”

He stated that “Ogara filed after 14 days of the result being published as allowed by law, so the lower court had no jurisdiction to entertain his case.”

Justice Aboki directed the INEC to immediately restore the name of Ayogu Eze as the candidate of the party.

Reacting to the development, both the chairman of APC in Enugu state, and Ayogu told journalists and party supporters that INEC should in view of the judgment place Eze’s name in the list and also postpone the election.

While calling for the postponement of the poll, the party chairman, Nwoye alleged that the party had uncovered plan by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Emeka Ononamadu, to manipulate the election through handing over the result sheets to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

He alleged that while the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) agents led by a serving senator from Enugu North senatorial zone of the state, and the party state chairman, Augustine Nnamani, were allowed into the strong room of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Enugu, he was not allowed alongside his party agents.

He insisted that the result sheets for various councils were missing, and threatened that his party would want INEC to address the issues raised or they would boycott the election.

 

Regis Anukwuoji/Enugu