Fallen senators, FRAUD

 

• How Kalu, Onjeh thrashed opponents at Appeal Court
• As fresh politicking commences

By Fred Itua, Abuja

IT is a season of shocks and upturn of election victories for politicians in the country. Beside the presiden­tial election between former presi­dent Goodluck Jonathan and the incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari, which was not contested in court, there have been shockwaves across the length and breathe of the coun­try.
Although elections of some state governors have been annulled and upheld by the various courts in the country, National Assembly appears to have suffered the biggest blow in the unprecedented reversal and out­right cancellation of election results by the courts. From the House of Representatives to the Red Cham­ber, the story is the same. Lawmak­ers reputed to have attained some reputation and political sophistry have been subdued by their political opponents. Incidentally, the main opposition party, the Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP) has suffered the biggest casualties so far in the court rulings given so far.
The victory of business mogul and former governor of Abia state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu at the Court of Ap­peal in Owerri, Imo state last Thurs­day is one of the major shockers that charged up the entire Southeastern region and Abia state in particular. Senator Mao Ohuabunwa of PDP who is believed to have enjoyed a phyrric victory through the election he was surprisingly declared winner in April by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) .
The court in its ruling, had or­dered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election for the sena­torial zone within 90 days. Kalu, had challenged the judgment of the low­er court which upheld Ohuabunwa’s election at the Appeal Court.
Delivering judgment on the case, Justice I. G. Mbaba stated that the lower court should have relied on certain documents for its judgment, which ought to have been filed, but were not. Mbaba further noted that the senatorial poll was marred by high level of irregularities and that the results were mutilated.
The judge had ruled that: “It is better for all the candidates to go back for a fresh election which would be transparent, reliable and credible because the previous poll was marred by fraud and the results were mutilated.”
Kalu’s victory did not come as a surprise to keen observers who have been following political develop­ments and goings-on in Abia state. As a former governor and a success­ful businessman who has empow­ered a number of Nigerians through his large network of businesses, Kalu resoundingly won the March 28th, 2015 National Assembly elec­tions to represent Abia North Sena­torial District on the platform of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA).
However, certain forces who were threatened that his ascension to the Senate would check their political relevance , allegedly connived with some elements in INEC to twist the election victory of Kalu. Undaunted and believed to be driven by an un­common love for his constituents, Dr. Kalu approached the court. At the lower court, he was denied vic­tory, but refused to give up, until the Court of Appeal in its wisdom granted his prayer and asked for a fresh election.
An elated Kalu after the court judgment, said: “This is victory for democracy aimed at the restora­tion of the people’s will, which was trampled upon through the abuse of fleeting power by those who thought they could mortgage the conscience of Abians. “What the Appeal Court has succeeded in doing is the lib­eration of Abians from the shackles of authoritarianism and associated power of rascality.
“Abians and I are now going to win, by God’s grace, by a landslide margin much more than we did in the last election, whose outcome was brazenly manipulated against the wish of our people. This same thing happened in 2011 when my mandate was recklessly upturned by persons who had special relationships with the immediate-past president of the country.
“We are ready for the rerun. I congratulate the Appeal Court on this decision. It is a testament to the robust vibrancy of our judiciary, which remains the last hope of the oppressed. This, again, is victory for Nigerians generally, Abians particu­larly and democracy.”
Both contenders for the top job are back to trenches. But observers who are familiar with the political sophistication of Kalu, strongly be­lieve that he will coast his way to victory when INEC finally announc­es the date for the rerun election in the senatorial district of Abia state.
Another major upset that hap­pened on the 7th of December, was the sacking of Senator Uche Ekwun­ife by the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu state. Ekwunife, a member of the opposition PDP was dragged to court by the former chairman of All Progressive Grand Alliance ( APGA), Chief Victor Umeh over claims that she did not win the March 28th, 2015 National Assem­bly election, held in Anambra state. Until her sack by the court, Ekwun­ife represented Anambra Central Senatorial District and chaired the Senate committee on Petroleum (Downstream).
Ekwunife’s election was upheld in October by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Awka, Anambra State. Not satisfied, Umeh approached the Court of Ap­peal, Enugu state division and on the 7th of December, Justice A.H. Yahya of the ruled that election of Senator Ekwunife did not meet the provision of the Electoral Act. He then ordered that fresh election is held in the Anambra Central Senatorial District within 90 days.
Reacting to his hard-earned vic­tory, Umeh said: “Today, we have a government that is averse to impuni­ty and cutting corners. Today things have really changed for good. To­day we do not have a Nigerian First Lady who would stay in Abuja and threaten the businesses of Anambra people if they fail to vote for the PDP. Today, my opponent knows she is already out of the re-run elec­tion because those factors that en­couraged brigandage and impunity in the March 28 polls are no longer here with us.
Senators from Rivers state ap­pears to have suffered the biggest blow so far in the ongoing court tsunami sweeping through the land. The Court of Appeal in Abuja, last week, voided the elections that pro­duced two Senators from Rivers state – Osinakachukwu Idoezu (Riv­ers South-West Senatorial District) and John Olaka-Nwogo (Rivers South-East).
The court, in a judgment, held among others, that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed, in its conduct of the elections, to comply substantially with the provisions of the Electoral Act and other guidelines for the March 28, 2015 National Assembly Election. The sack of Idoezu and Olaka-Nwoga yesterday brought to three the number of Senators sacked in Rivers State by the Appeal Court. The Court had in a similar judgment on during the week, nullified the election of George Thompson Seki­bo, representing Rivers East Senato­rial District.
Former Senate President, David Mark who until recently, maintained a loud silence on the floor of the Senate, was among the first to be sacked by the court. Until his sack, he was the longest serving Senator in the country. Between 2007 and 2015, Mark was the President of the Nigerian Senate. He was one of the arrowheads that coined and passed the Doctrine of Necessity motion in 2010, empowering former presi­dent Jonathan to take over, follow­ing the incapacitation of late Musa Yar’Adua.
Observers believe that the evic­tion of Mark from the Senate was a step taken in the right direction, since he appeared to have reneged since his party, the PDP failed to se­cure the majority seats in the Senate.
The court in its ruling in late No­vember, 2015, ordered the INEC to conduct a fresh election in Benue South Senatorial District within 90 days. Mark’s victory, at the March 28, 2015 senatorial election, had been challenged by Daniel Onjeh of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who petitioned the Benue State Legislative Houses Elections Tribunal, asking for the cancellation of the election and an order to con­duct fresh election in the district.
The Justice Mosunmola Dipeo­lu-led panel, on October 7, 2015, dismissed Onjeh’s petition on the grounds that evidence tendered be­fore the tribunal was documentary hearsay. But in a unanimous judge­ment by Justice Peter Ige, the appel­late court dismissed the judgement of the tribunal and upheld the plea of the appellant that Mark’s elec­tion failed substantially to meet the provisions of paragraphs 39 and 40 of INEC guidelines and Sections 73and 74 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.
Members of the Federal House of Representatives, as well as law­makers in the 36 State Houses of Assembly have also been sacked. In the coming days, weeks and months, the country will again be alive, as af­fected politicians plot to make come­backs, while those who have secured victories are not willing to repeat the mistakes of the past. Benue, Rivers, Abia and Anambra states will also serve as further litmus tests for the new chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu on the prepared­ness of the commission to conduct elections in the country.