By Francis Igata
THE legal fireworks attending the outcome of the December 8 governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Enugu State may be an ominous sign threatening the party’s success ahead of the 2015 general elections.
There were seven aspirants for the ticket. Although, Chief Anayo Onwuegbu and Mr. Chinedu Onu had to step down for Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, on the prompting of Deputy Senate President,Ike Ekweremadu, five other candidates squared up for the contest.
They are Samuel Maduka Onyishi, owner Peace Mass Transit; Senator Ayogu Eze representing Enugu-North senatorial district; Speaker,Enugu State House of Assembly, Eugene Odo; Prof. Onyeke Onyeke and Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Ugwuanyi: Supported by the party
Five of the aspirants had a pre-primary meeting with the Chairman of the five-man Electoral Panel sent from the party secretariat, King Asarah Asarah, at the Allen Hotel, Independence layout, Enugu.
At the meeting, Ayogu, Onyishi and Onyeke disagreed with the electoral panel chairman over the delegates lists to be used for the conduct of the primaries. Asarah agreed with the trio that the delegates list with which he came to conduct the exercise was not the truly certified copy from NWC and Abuja High Court.
Aggrieved aspirants
The aggrieved aspirants contended that the three-man delegates list of November 1, approved by the Abuja High Court presided over by Justice A. Ademola and National Working Committee, NWC, of the party was at variance with that of the electoral panel chairman.
They therefore held parallel primaries while Onyishi boycotted the exercise citing irregularities discovered in the delegates list.
He however petitioned the party’s elections appeal panel twice but did not receive any response after eight days contrary to the party’s constitution that stipulates that appeal petitions emanating from primaries shall be determined within 24 hours upon receipt of such submission.
Consequently, Onyishi approached the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on December 16 and the PDP was given 24 hours to appear before it to adduce reasons the governorship primaries it conducted in Enugu State on December 8, 2014 should not be cancelled.
In a ruling, Justice Evoh Chukwu summoned both the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to appear before him to show why the outcome of the said primaries should not be voided.
The court order was sequel to an ex-parte application filed before it by Onyishi.
Dr. Onyishi had through his lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, prayed the court to declare that the primaries conducted by the PDP in Enugu state was in clear violation of the Electoral Act, saying it was in contempt of a subsisting suit challenging the election of delegates for that primaries.
Prior to the primaries, Justice Chukwu had in another suit instituted by Orji Godwin and two others, against the PDP and 4 others, with reference number FHC/Abj/CS/830/2014, approved and sanctioned a list of delegates for the said primaries.
Breach of court’s decision
The list okayed by the court consisted of all the delegates duly elected at the party’s ward congresses for Enugu State.
However, Dr. Onyishi alleged that the Enugu State Electoral Panel, in breach of the court’s decision, discarded that list of duly elected delegates approved by the court, and brought a different list of delegates which they claimed was handed over to them by the leadership of the party.
He further told the court that no valid governorship primaries of the PDP took place in Enugu State on December 8, as no votes or results could have been recorded from the flawed delegates list.
Ayogu had also prayed a Federal High Court in Abuja against accepting any other name as governorship candidate of the PDP aside himself.
However, an Enugu State High Court equally granted an ex-parte order restraining Senator Ayogu Eze from parading himself as the governorship candidate of the party pending the hearing and determination of a case filed by the plaintiff and the PDP governorship candidate for Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
It also restrained the PDP from recognising or submitting the name of any other person other than Ugwuanyi as the party’s gubernatorial candidate in Enugu State for the February 2015 general elections.
Justice R. O. Odogwu issued the order in Suit No E/499/2014 with Senator Ayogu Eze and the PDP as the first and second defendants respectively.
The order, which was granted upon hearing the submissions of Ogochukwu Onyekwuluje with Tochukwu Maduka counsel for the plaintiff, read in part: “The 1stdefendant/respondent (Senator Ayogu Eze) by himself, his principals, agents, supporters or any other person, howsoever, called is hereby restrained from holding himself out and/or parading himself and/or allowing himself to be held out and/paraded as the gubernatorial candidate of the 2nd defendant for the February 2015 general election in Enugu State pending the determination of the motion on notice already filed in this suit.”
Meanwhile, the party has said that there was no court order restraining it from submitting the name of Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as its candidate in the 2015 governorship election in the State.
Reacting to media reports that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on December 18 ordered PDP not to submit Hon. Ugwuanyi’s name to the INEC, the party, in a statement signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Dr. Okey Eze, described the reports as “mischief by inordinate power seekers who would stop at nothing to undo the will of the people as duly and freely expressed during the December 8, 2014 governorship primary election in the State”.
•Eze: Claiming victory
The PDP said: “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no injunction whatsoever restraining the PDP from submitting the name of its validly elected candidate, Hon. I feanyi Ugwuanyi, to the INEC.
“For the avoidance of doubts, there are two cases on the Enugu governorship primary pending before Justice S.E Chukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja and both cases were heard on Thursday, December 18, 2014. The first is Sen. Ayogu Eze vs. PDP in which Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuany was joined following an application by his counsel, P.I.N Ikwueto (SAN). The second case is Dr. Samuel Onyishi vs. the PDP.
“The fact is that Sen. Ayogu Eze’s initial application for an ex-parte order to restrain the PDP from submitting Hon. Ugwuanyi’ name to INEC was refused by the Court as he was asked to put the PDP and INEC on Notice.
“At the resumption of the case on Thursday, December 18, 2014, the PDP, through its counsel, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), filed a preliminary objection to the effect that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the suit, relying on the case of Senator Lado vs. the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) where the Supreme Court held that where there are parallel primaries, the party, and not the court, is to decide which primary to accept.
“The preliminary objection also raises the issue that Sen. Ayogu Eze had no locus standi to contest the outcome of the primary election since he did not participate in it”.
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