23/03/2022
EQUITY AIDS THE VIGILANT NOT THE INDOLENT”:
BEING THE TEXT OF A PRESS CONFERENCE ISSUED BY PRINCE BARR. NDUBUISI ONWE CHIBUEZE-AGBO, THE GOVERNORSHIP CANDIDATE OF THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (SDP) IN THE 2019 GENERAL ELECTION IN EBONYI STATE, ON THE RECENT JUDGEMENT DELIVERED BY THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT IN ABUJA, DECLARING THE SEAT OF THE GOVERNOR OF EBONYI STATE VACANT, THIS 22ND DAY OF MARCH,2022.
Protocol:
Good morning and thank you for honouring our invitation for today's all important press conference. You are welcome.
It has become very necessary that we take position as a party and a critical stakeholder in the Ebonyi project. History will not be fair to us if we stand akimbo and fail to make our stand known while some political buccaneers are on a mission to cause chaos and put the state in a political quagmire. It is all of us that will suffer if miscarriage of justice is allowed. May God of justice come to our rescue as we join hands to bringing lasting peace to our people.
Whereas I have read and dissected the judgment of the Federal High Court Abuja delivered on 8th day of March, 2022 by Honourable Justice I.E. Ekwo in a matter instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressive Congress (APC), Engineer David Umahi; and Dr Eric Kelechi Igwe.
And whereas I must commend the learned Justice for his courage, bravery and dexterity. He has written his name in gold in the annals of Nigeria legal and political history. His courage alone is legendary and commendable.
However, the aphorism that no man owns monopoly of wisdom is glaring as some holes could be pointed out in the said judgment. One arm of the judgment may likely be voided by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. My position is inferred by a community reading of the provisions of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria as amended as well as the provisions of the 2010 Electoral Act which was the extant law for the 2019 General Election.
The Spirit of the law and our constitution did not envisage a situation where a non participant in neither the party primaries nor the general election will be appointed by any political party and for INEC to issue Certificate of Returns to such individuals; to be sworn in as a governor of any state in Nigeria. Our laws are settled on steps to be taken before any citizen of Nigeria could be sworn in as president or governor in Nigeria. There is no lacuna on the processes and no court of law will claim to be blind on that. It does not call for any court, even the Supreme Court to pretend to be filling a lacuna in our legal system where one does not exist by way of judicial activism or legislation.
Of a truth, where we have lacuna is a situation where a sitting governor that was sponsored by a political party will after resuming office under the party's platform decide to defect to another political party. This is the case in Ebonyi state and by the wisdom of the court in the matter in question that was instituted by the PDP, the governor should quit the office since he no longer enjoys membership of the party that sponsored his election in to the office. This is the first time in the country's political history that a political party has approached the court of law to challenge a sitting governor for defection from the party to another party. The argument is that since the Supreme Court has taken a position in the case of a member of the National Assembly who defected from his party to another, that the same fate awaits anybody in the executive arm, though the constitution was silent on that. It is within the doctrine of judicial legislation to fill in such gaps and that is just what Justice Ekwo has done in this case. It is now up to our Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to either uphold the decision or declare it null and void. Let it be clearly stated that all the arguments in support or against the judgment at this stage is mere academic, advisory and persuasive in nature until the two layers of appeal have been exhausted and a position taken on it. But our courts and the judiciary at large should be aware that the public is watching and shall do well to take a position that all parties involved and the entire citizenry will see that justice has been done in the case. When we see justice, even the blind will recognize it. When we see injustice we will also know it. All eyes are watching, let justice prevail, no matter whose ox is gored.
Let me stress once more, the court cannot illegally equip PDP or any other party for that matter with remedy not supported by our law and common sense. If the court has sacked the governor who is the only qualified candidate in the 2019 General Election for that position, it stands that PDP has completely lost out and there is nothing the court can do to revive a putrid animal in this case. It is rotten and the party has to accept that position, Period.
If an order is given for a fresh election today, PDP has been disqualified as their recent nominees are not qualified to join the race at this stage. Our laws are very clear on that. I read the text of the press conference issued by the PDP National Chairman in Abuja recently wherein he nominated two persons for INEC to issue Certificate of Returns and to be sworn in as governor and deputy governor respectively in Ebonyi State. The nominees are strangers to 2019 Governorship Election in Ebonyi State. They are estopped from flying that flag by virtue of our laws. Their case would have been different if they had participated in the PDP primaries for the governorship election in 2019. The record is there with INEC and it is also a public knowledge.
The second arm of the judgment is for INEC to order for a fresh election in Ebonyi State in accordance with section 177(c) of the 1999 constitution, excluding the 3rd and 4th defendants who are disqualified from participating in the election by virtue of section 182(1)(b) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) arising from abandonment of the majority lawful votes. If the sole candidate has been disqualified, by implication PDP has been disqualified by the judgment when placed side by side with the extant laws. PDP seems not to have envisaged a situation where their candidate will abandon the ship by way of defection and as such did not prepare for a successor. The party having abandoned their candidate and their votes; or their candidate having abandoned them and their votes. Whichever way you put it, they have lost out completely. That is their own kettle of fish. What is clear in law is that they cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time.
The position of APC governorship candidate in the said 2019 general election - Senator Sunny Ogbuorji in a press release he issued in Abuja recently claiming that he should be sworn in as governor of Ebonyi State having come second in the said election. He is just day-dreaming as the same judgment in order 7 stated categorically that APC did not win majority vote having scored only 81, 703 vote as against 393, 343 votes by the PDP. APC candidate is therefore not qualified to be sworn in just for coming second. There are other qualifications and criteria necessary as provided by the constitution and the electoral act.
Having succinctly pointed out my observations in the whole imbroglio in very clear terms, and in my capacity as the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2019 General Election, the election now turned contentious in past weeks, after due consultations with my campaign organization, party and other relevant stakeholders, we have resolved to join the matter in the Appeal Court as an interested party. This will enable the court capture and ventilate our position for possible considerations in the cause of doing justice in the matter and for Ebonyi State.
As a party we are on our own. We are not in support of the other parties involved in the suit. We have not seen any clear difference from both APC and PDP in this case. They are the same people and the same actors. They are friends and allies in ego-shopping and catch-power tricks. Let nobody deceive us. We must evaluate both the message and the messenger. They are all in power and in money feeding fat at the expense of the ordinary man. We have one adage in my place that when translated in English means: "That a hungry dog and the well-fed dog cannot reasonably indulge in a play with each other." It is not just possible!
We are not happy with the crises as a people and must join hands towards finding lasting peace and justice for Ebonyi people. Ebonyi is above any individual and we must put our people first.
Our slogan is Ebonyi first and on that we stand.
So help us God.
Thank you all once more for your kind attention. God is in control.
