is planned for November 30. One of the aspirants for the ticket of the
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Hon. Uche Ekwunife is asking
that the court declare her the authentic candidate of the party.
Ekwunife is the runner- up to Mr. Willie Obiano at the APGA
governorship primary, having scored the second highest votes.
In a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Awka, Anambra State
capital, Hon Ekwunife, a member of the House of Representatives,
prayed the court to declare her as the rightful candidate for APGA in
the November 16, 2013 governorship election. In her suit which has Mr.
Willy Obiano, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and
APGA, as the first, second and third defendants respectively, Ekwunife
is urging the court to disqualify Obiano as the candidate of APGA, by
virtue of his alleged multiple registration in Lagos and Anambra
states.
In the originating summons filed by her counsel, Chief Ugo Ugwunnadi,
she argued: "By virtue of the multiple registration, which is a
serious electoral offence and by the combined effect of Sections 9
(1), (2), (3), 2, 3, 12 (1), (2) and 24 (1)(e) of the 2010 Electoral
Act of Nigeria, as amended, and Section 178 (5) of the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, Mr.
Obiano is not a registered voter qualified to vote and be voted for in
Anambra State and therefore, he cannot contest an election in a state,
where he is not a legally and validly registered voter."
In her supporting affidavit to the originating summons, the federal
lawmaker alleged: "Mr. Obiano was assigned with three different VIN
numbers, by virtue of the multiple registration as follows – (1) 90F5
B12B 0129 6204 172, (2) 90F5 B15E 7D37 8200 332, and (3) 90F5 B12B
8837 7091 121 respectively, annexed as Exhibits UE2, UE3 and UE4. All
these appeared in three different Voters' Register."
Consequent upon this, Ekwunife is also asking the court for an order
directing APGA to substitute the name of Obiano with hers and for INEC
to deal with her as the rightful candidate of APGA and moreso, for the
fact that elections were contested, lost and won by political parties
and not individuals.
Some one shuld kindly inform uche that she is a fool
ReplyDeleteObiano should have be disqualified cos he registered in Lagos and Anambra. Many people committed the same act and their names were deleted from the register. Ekwunife has a right to sue but why now? Especially after Obiano will probably be declared the winner after the supplementary election is conducted. She's trying to play the smart card. I think she felt that Obiano may not win but now that she's seen the way things turned out, she reconsidered. She should have challenged it in court before now. Too little too late.
ReplyDeleteNow, dats politics for u. D woman is sharp. She has seen d loop hole and decided to capitalise on it. Election is contested by parties and not persons. She is d rightful candidate jor
ReplyDelete