In a statement by Mr. Osita Okechukwu, the Spokesman, South East, APC Leadership Caucus, he said Umeh was clearly displaying his fear of facing other parties in the polls.
Reacting to the statement credited to Umeh, threatening the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) on the danger of allowing All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to conduct fresh primaries or field new candidates for the fresh election, Okechukwu said, “Chief Victor Umeh craves to be anointed to the Senate. Little did he know that there is no anointment to the senate, when two main political parties are on the prowl”.
He added that Umeh “is suffering from the culture hangover of series of anointments he inherited from APGA. APGA indeed never adhered to the doctrine of internal democracy.”
Going down memory lane, Okechukwu said, “one day Chief Okey Nwosu, foundation treasurer of APGA was shoved aside and Umeh was anointed the National Treasurer and the next good luck day, Chief Chekwas Okorie foundation chairman of APGA was shoved aside and Umeh was anointed National Chairman of APGA. This is his idea of democracy and the history of his meteoric rise. That’s why he is so scared to contest election, as he was flawed woefully in the last senatorial election, indeed the only election he ever contested.”
“To fulfill his own self righteousness, Chief Umeh who is scared stiff to meet one of the two amazons who will emerge as APC candidate – Barrister Sharon Ikeazor or Senator Uche Ekwunife – and the PDP candidate has recruited some inconsequential candidates from other minor political parties, as decoy of contest.
“Consequently, the South East APC is at a loss, why Chief Umeh who claims to be the foremost advocate of Ndigbo’s interest is bent on excluding APC from producing an Igbo senator. In order to secure his selfish interest to be crowned a senator, he plays down the uncountable gains which an Igbo senator from APC, will engender for the South East infrastructural development.
“To compound matters he flagrantly negates valid sections of the Constitution and the Electoral Act, like Section 33 of the Electoral Act which guarantees a political party the powers to effect a change or substitute a candidate in the event of the death or withdrawal of the initial candidate. The only caveat is that a primary to that effect shall be conducted.
“It is a trite law that a political party has the right to nominate and sponsor candidates in all elections in Nigeria. It is immaterial whether it is a general election, bye-election, new election, fresh election or election of any nomenclature, the right of a political party to nominate and sponsor candidates has always been unfettered. Even the right to withdraw an already nominated candidate in any election resides with the political party, subject to provisions of sections 33 and 35 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).
“What we expect now is our great party relying on Section 35 to convey the withdrawal of Senator Ngige to INEC. This is because APC was not disqualified from contesting the election by the Court of Appeal. Since we are still qualified to contest election by virtue of section 221, it is only political party that can provide the platform to contest an election.
“May one counter that the Supreme Court judgment he refers to cannot stand the test of validity, ‘The case of Labour Party v. I.N.E.C which A.P.G.A as a political party has been brandishing is unhelpful to their case. The Court of Appeal in Labour Party v. I.N.E.C (supra) clearly noted that no two cases are the same. Secondly that decision was based on the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2006 which did not contemplate the provisions of sections 33 and 35 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).’
“Therefore, we can legitimately and legally host the right to present a candidate for the election. The fact that our earlier candidate has voluntarily withdrawn cannot operate to defeat the constitutional right of our political party as enshrined in sections 221 and 229 of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“My submission is that the All Progressive Congress (A.P.C) has an unfettered constitutional right to replace our candidate since Senator Ngige our initial candidate has willfully and voluntarily withdrawn from this electoral contest, such right cannot under any stretch of imagination be lost.
“In sum, we appeal to Chief Umeh to stop shopping for anointment, stop any maneuver which may damper the legitimacy of the electoral process and be ready to accommodate defeat from one of APC’s Amazons”, he maintained.
Daily Post.
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