Chris Uba, others Petitions INEC as Andy, Oduah Insist On Remaining Senators

As the legal fog surround­ing the recent apex court’s judgement that ‘sacked’ Senators Andy Uba (Anambra South) and Stella Oduah (Anambra North) swirls, Chief Chris Uche (SAN) has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) demand­ing the release of certificates of return to Chief Chris Uba, Sen­ator Annie Okonkwo, Senator John Emeka and 41 others.

The Supreme Court Judg­ment, last Friday, had apparent­ly resolved the leadership crisis in the Anambra State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the favour of the Chief Ejike Ogue­bego faction which conducted primaries for the affected per­sons.

But the attendance of the two legislators believed to have been sacked from the legislature, fol­lowing the ruling that affirmed Oguebego’s faction of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP leader­ship in Anambra State, to their committees’ meetings un-hin­dered is sending conflicting le­gal signals.

In a unanimous judgment by a five-man bench, the apex court upheld the Ejike Oguebego-led executive committee of the par­ty against the judgment of the Court of Appeal. Uche was the counsel to the Oguebego faction at the court.

In the senior advocates letter addressed to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, titled “Compliance with judgement of Supreme Court Anambara state PDP National Assembly Candi­dates SC/37/2015-Ejike Oguebe­go and Anor Vs Peoples Dem­ocratic Party (PDP)” dated 29th January 2016, Uche stated that the effect of the Supreme Court judgment is that those who were not part of the list of candidates produced by the congress/pri­mary elections under the watch of Oguebego and his executive committee ought and must va­cate the positions they presently occupy on the ground that they were not validly nominated.

Currently, confusion reigns over the fate of the present mem­bers of the National Assembly from Anambra State, on the list of the other faction of the party.

The names of Chris Ubah, Annie Okonkwo and 42 others were substituted following the Appeal Court judgment of 6th February 2015, prior to the 2015 general elections.

Uche who is the counsel to affected candidates on the list of Oguebego in his letter to the electoral body stated further that now that the apex court has final­ly settled this matter, it was the responsibility of INEC to enforce and comply with the said judge­ment.
Uche who also copied the Chairman, Legal Services Com­mittee, INEC Headquarters, Abuja; Ibrahim Bawa, (SAN), Director, Legal services depart­ment INEC and Hassan Li­man, SAN INEC Lead Counsel stressed that there was no oth­er primary election conduct­ed by PDP to produce any can­didates other than the one that produced his clients.

The letter reads in part: “The effect of the Supreme Court judgment consequently is that all those who were not part of the list of candidates produced by the congress/primary elec­tions that the Ejike Oguebego and his executive committee participated in, and monitored by INEC ought and must va­cate the positions they present­ly occupy having not been valid­ly nominated.

“In the light of the foregoing, we therefore demand that your commission complies prompt­ly with the said judgment of the Supreme Court by issuing forthwith Certificates of Return to our clients as the authentic and legitimate candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party for Anambra state who won the election, the entire gamut of lit­igation having been exhausted.
“We look forward to your timely cooperation and com­pliance.”

Meanwhile, yesterday, Sen­ator Andy Uba, who repre­sents Anambra South Senatori­al District attended the meeting of the Senate Joint Committees on Banking, Insurance and oth­er Financial Institutions while Oduah was in her office attending to visitors and files on her table.

Their presence at the Na­tional Assembly caught the at­tention of staff and visitors, who have been following political developments in Anambra State.
The apex court upheld an earlier decision by Justice Chuk­wu of the Federal High Court laying out the proper procedures for selection of the PDP’s legisla­tive candidates.
The apex court’s decision was thought to have swept away all the National Assembly members from Anambra State on the plat­form of the PDP.
In December 2014, the Fed­eral High Court had ruled that it was only the constitutionally recognized state party leadership led by Ejike Oguebego that could organize the party primaries.

The ‘sacked’ federal lawmak­ers may continue to attend to their budget defence duties un­hindered until there is a speci­fied judicial directive to the ef­fect since they are chairmen of different standing committees of the Senate.

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