- Serves INEC with court ruling
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
Ahead of the September 10 governorship election in Edo state, the faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to the ousted national chairman, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise the candidate of the group, Mathew Iduoriyekwemwen, as the PDP’s candidate for the election.
A member of the House of Representatives representing Egor/Kpoba-Okha Federal Constituency, Hon. Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma, was at the INEC office on Friday to submit a court ruling ordering the commission to accept Iduoriyekwemwen as the PDP candidate for the election in Edo state.
But there was an altercation between the lawmaker and the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Rotimi, when the latter scolded the delegation for barging into the commission’s premises to address the media without any notice.
The plan of Sheriff’s delegation to meet with the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, failed as the chairman was said to have left for Jumat prayers.
Addressing newsmen later outside the INEC premises, the lawmaker said the commission’s decision to publish the name of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu who emerged from a primary election conducted by the PDP National Caretaker Committee led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi as PDP candidate for the election was illegal.
He said the INEC’s legal department should advise the commission’s chairman, Prof Mahmud Yakubu accordingly in order for the “righful thing to be done”, adding that “INEC must obey court order”.
“Today, I am challenging INEC to do the needful and be on the side of the law. We are not in a Kangaroo country. Nigeria is a great nation. Something good can come out of Nigeria. I have submitted a letter to the INEC chairman to as soon as possible, with immediate effect, put Hon Iduoriyekwemwen as candidate of PDP for the Edo governorship election because the court order has been struck out.
“Today, Hon Iduoriyekwemwen is the rightful candidate. So there is nothing more to say about this than for INEC to be on the side of the law, obey the law of the land. Anybody that refuses to obey the law of the land will face the music at the end of the day.
“There was a court order given recently by Justice Adeniyi of the FCT High Court. There was a case filed by Ize-Iyamu at the same court that has brought us to where we are now but INEC decided to place Ize-Iyamu as candidate of PDP; which is the Makarfi group.
“It is also on record that the Judgement given by Justice Abang, said that in law, Makarfi does not exist, that His Excellency, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is the authentic chairman of PDP,” he said.
