Abia warns of danger in Appeal Court’s ruling

ABIA State Government has appealed to the judiciary not to play into the hands of some politicians whose desire is to toy with the lives and aspira­tions of the people of the state. The government said what the people of the state desired was good governance, which they had experienced in the first 200 days of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu.

According to the Chief Press Secretary to the State gover­nor, Mr Godwin Adindu, the decision of the Court of Appeal panel, which recently ordered the removal of the governor from office, was capable of launching the state into anar­chy, but for the peaceful dis­position of the governor who continued to urge the people not to take the laws into their hands.

“Abia State is not for sale and nobody should trifle with the destiny of the people,” Adindu cautioned. “All the people involved in this grand conspiracy to cause havoc in Abia and drag the state into anarchy and bloodshed should steer clear of Abia,” he further warned.

Since the New Year eve’s ruling by the Court of Appeal, there have been massive pro­tests across the state, including that of Ukwa Ngwa men, led by former Senate President Adol­phus Wabara and Chief Ger­shion Amuta, which grounded activities in Aba. Ukwa Ngwa women also followed up on that trend, protesting in black attires, as they marched on the streets of Aba in a re-enactment of the Aba Women Riot of 1929.

The Abia State Govern­ment raised fundamental issues about the Court of Appeal rul­ing, which, if allowed to stand, would mean the denial of the rights of a large number of the electorate to choose their repre­sentatives. It wondered how the appellate court could allow the disenfranchising of three local governments, which constitute one-third of Abia State elector­ate, including the state gover­nor himself.

“How could they (the jus­tices) have ordered INEC to swear-in Mr. Alex Otti immedi­ately after their pronouncement when they know that there is still a window of 14 days with­in which the governor has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court?,” Adindu asked.

He said APGA was not ready for the 2015 governorship elec­tion as demonstrated by its inability to have candidates for the House of Assembly in the two state constituencies of Obingwa Local Government Area, where the PDP gover­norship candidate hails from. “So, who could have mobilised or monitored votes for APGA in Obingwa?,” he asked again.

He described the peace­ful demonstration in Aba and other parts of the state as a legitimate expression of the people’s will. His words: “There is a provision for such open show of disenchantment in our Constitution. The aim is to dramatise our anger over the Appeal Court ruling so that the entire world will know that injustice has been done to the people of Aba. Our people are conducting themselves within the ambit of the law.”

The government expressed utmost confidence in the abil­ity of the justices of the Su­preme Court to correct the anomaly by the Court of Ap­peal and uphold the victory of Governor Ikpeazu, adding that Governor Ikpeazu’s mandate is sacred and safe and cannot be replaced with money.

It criticised the constitu­tion of the Court of Appeal panel, recalling that the Peo­ples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state had earlier raised alarm that all the five justices that constituted the election appeal panel were of the same Lagos division, contrary to the established tradition of having a mixture of justices from dif­ferent divisions of the Court of Appeal.

“Lagos is where the gover­norship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Mr Alex Otti, resides and does business,” Adindu said, adding that PDP had expressed fear of a possible compromise at the onset of the appeal by the APGA candidate who lost his case at the election tribunal.

The government also con­demned what it described as a regime of intimidation and harassment as confirmed by Tuesday’s invasion of the Aba residence of the Commissioner for Works, Eziuche Ubani, who is a leader of the pro­tests against the Appeal Court judgment and the Wednesday harassment of Mr. Ginger On­wutibe, the transition chairman of Isiala Ngwa North.

“This is an unwarranted in­timidation. Government feels highly embarrassed by this action and demands an unre­served apology from the secu­rity agencies involved in the act,” Adindu said.

Share on Google Plus

About The Nigerian Blogger

This is a short description in the author block about the author. You edit it by entering text in the "Biographical Info" field in the user admin panel.