Senator-elect for Cross River North senatorial zone, Hon. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe has warned against the alleged moves by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to alter the subsisting result of the state congresses, insisting that the result backed by the Supreme Court ruling remained sacrosanct.
The outcome of the congress divided the PDP in the state into two, with the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, leading one faction, while the Abuja group comprising members of the National Assembly from the state constituted the second faction.
In an advertorial published today, Jarigbe warned that he had “watched patiently from the sidelines as our party is being dragged and muddled in the mud by persons whose sole intentions are to cause commotion within the party and destroy it perpetually before eventually moving to another party they had been hobnobbing with in the last few years.”
To prevent the party from imploding, he said he decided to speak out to project his voice of reason on why “we must embrace the rule of law, equity and justice to resolve the lingering issues rather than continuing on the current arbitrariness and authoritarianism which we have all seen to be counter-productive.”
Giving reasons for his stand, the lawmaker posited that “the subsisting result of the PDP Ward and Chapter Congresses in Cross River is sacrosanct and must not be tempered with under any guise or pretensions.”
According to him, “the reason for towing this line of action fastidiously is that the congresses followed due processes and were conducted in line with the guidelines of the PDP and monitored by INEC as required by law.”
He explained that: “The Authentic list was ratified by the NWC of the party and Certified by INEC. Today, as I write, both INEC and the party have the authentic list.
“I went to court, when I discovered that the governor’s group was trying to substitute the list with a concocted list put together by the governor himself, his younger brother, Frank and some of their cronies.
“My decision to approach the court was to give legal backing to the authentic list and to pre-empt and stop the party from yielding to pressure from the governor to manipulate and alter the list in his group’s favour,” he explained.
He narrated that: “At the trial, the authentic list was affirmed by the trial court and the governor’s group lost out. The judgment was appealed against me by the governor’s group.
“Again, the judgment was upheld by both the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court. The judgment of the apex court, finally resolved the matter and put the controversy to rest. The judgment was given on January 6, 2021,” Jarigbe pointed out
The lawmaker said “I would like to know what would have happened if I had lost at both the appellate and supreme Courts; would they have accepted the victory or not? Surely, they would have insisted that the ruling remains sacrosanct and that’s what I am also insisting to be done here.”
To underscore the authenticity of the authentic list, Jarigbe said the party was to use the list thereafter in the “conduct of the primary for the Senate by-election and also used same for the zonal congress which held in Port Harcourt recently.”
Speaking on the reconciliation committee set up by the party to harmonise positions, the Senator-elect explained that “the Reconciliation Committee effort forced on the party by a self-centred group that must win at all times is an after-thought and cannot achieve anything.
“If it is with regards to the ward and chapter excos, it is far too late in the day to contemplate such a mission because any alteration to the authentic list is contemptuous to the apex court’s ruling,”Jarigbe warned.
He also called on the NWC to do the needful to avoid being sued for contempt of court.
According to him, “I believe strongly and rightly so too that the NWC knows that the authentic list is sacrosanct. The party leadership would not want to be charged for contempt.”
He warned of fire consequences of ignoring his warning because of the grievous implications of tampering or causing an alteration to authentic list.
Jarigbe pointed out that “the implication of altering that list is that the PDP in Cross River State will not be able to field Candidates that are validly nominated in 2023. The main opposition party in the state will take every available position.
“The reason why we would have such an outcome is that an illegal exco cannot vote to nominate a candidate meaning that you cannot put something on nothing,” he warned.
On why the NWC should thread on the path of caution, Jarigbe said “I consider it grossly inappropriate for the NWC to be an accused and a judge, it certainly cannot approbate and reprobate.
“The Committee which had earlier ratified the list cannot in all intent and purpose make a volte face turnaround to alter it in just one fell swoop even after using the list in obedience to subsisting Court judgment,” he pointed out.
He expressed worries over the fate of the party “because of the vultures hovering overheard. We see ominous signs in the horizon orchestrated by Agents who have been sent to destroy our Party. They are the ones hired to play the hatchet role of destroying causing acrimony with intent to destroy the party before moving to another party.”
He recalled that, “Not too long ago, we were witnesses to an open romance between our leader and the ruling party. This is not the first time. Can we please ask Governor Ben Ayade, the outcome of his meeting with the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC? Can we also ask him the outcome of the meeting he had with some APC bigwigs in the Villa?” he queried.
Jarigbe said he “recognised that some of our leaders have inordinate ambitions and are blinded to the realities. I wish them luck. For me, I strongly advise against and will not subscribe to political rascality and disobedience to Judgments of Courts.”
On what he’ll do if the contrary is the case, the lawmaker said “I will not hesitate to facilitate an action against anyone who decides to be contemptuous.
