Udora Orizu in Abuja
The leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, O’tega Emerhor, said yesterday that the state chapter of the party is set to approach a competent court to commit the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to prison for violation of court order.
Emerhor who also contested for the senatorial ticket of Delta Central district in the primaries, stated this in an interview with journalists in Abuja, said the chairman of INEC has so far refused to obey court orders, which restrained him from recognising candidates that emerged in parallel primaries conducted by the two factions of Delta State APC.
He stated that in view of the factional crisis enveloping the state chapter of the APC, his group had approached the court and secured a court order stopping INEC from publishing the names of candidates for National Assembly, governorship and State Assembly posts, but stated that INEC had gone ahead to disobey the court order.
According to him, the APC faction has served the commission with Form 48, to start the contempt of court proceedings, adding that the party would have no choice than to slam contempt charge on the INEC chairman and commit him to prison.
He added that his faction of APC in the state had also written the electoral commission twice through its counsel , Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) but added that INEC had so far ignored the party.
“It is very clear that we have no choice than to go for committal to prison of the INEC Chairman. That will be our next step because we cannot accept that a court will give an order and INEC will not obey.
“I can understand if the APC does not want to even obey, not that I understand it, but because the prior action of the National Chairman has shown that he does not take our group seriously. So, I can understand that and if you want to damn the consequences of the court as a partisan in this matter, I can understand it; but not the INEC Chairman. The INEC Chairman ought to be independent because the constituency of the country is his. He has no personal interest in this matter. So, you ought to obey the court.”
