Anambra Earnestly Awaits Central Senatorial Rerun, Group Tells INEC

David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Anambra Grassroots United, has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to heed calls from some groups to dump the election as the people of the state earnestly await it.

The election has been scheduled for January 13, but INEC reacting to a court judgment ordering the swearing-in of Obiorah Okonkwo said it was still studying the judgement to know if to shelf the election.

But the leader of the group, Okafor Amokwu, said INEC should save the people of the district of the agony of not having a representation in the Senate since 2015.

The Court of Appeal had on December 7, 2017, sacked the former occupant of the position, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, for improper nomination by her political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Amokwu said: “Today, INEC has two judgements on its hands about this election. One is a Federal High Court judgement ordering it to issue a certificate of return to Okonkwo of the PDP as the senator representing the district.

“The second one is the judgement of the Court of Appeal ordering INEC to conduct the district election within 90 days which as a consequence made INEC to fix the poll for January 13.

“Now, it’s trite and settled law that when equities are equal, the first in time/first in place prevails. Since the Court of Appeal order was the first issued to INEC in this respect, the electoral body has no reason to look at the Federal High Court judgement. Not only that, according to the sanctity of hierarchy of courts, a Federal High Court cannot assume jurisdiction in a matter already decided by the Court of Appeal.

“So in the light of this, we submit that INEC should conduct this election as scheduled on January 13, because nothing in law is stopping it,” Amokwu stated.

Similarly, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the January 13 re-run election, Chief Victor Umeh, has expressed optimism that INEC would conduct the poll.

Speaking with THISDAY yesterday in Awka, Umeh said nothing would prevent the election from being held on the date already fixed by INEC.

He described as a joke the claim that Okonkwo should be sworn in as the senator for district

Okonkwo, had, through his lawyers asked INEC to issue him with the certificate of return after forwarding the judgement of a Federal High Court ordering that he be sworn in as senator representing Anambra Central senatorial district.

He said: “The claim by the chieftain of the PDP is a nullity and cannot be enforced. Besides, the Nigerian constitution and the Electoral Act have guaranteed the January 13, 2018, date already fixed by INEC for the Anambra Central senatorial district re-run election.

Umeh, the immediate past APGA National Chairman, called on the electorate in the senatorial district to brace up for the re-run poll and exercise their franchise for effective representation at the Senate.