Does Onyema Ugochukwu realy think he will be Governor of Abia State?
Legal ramblings, reasoning and lessons
Roguery Reigns In Abia State Too Ojigwe, Enyimba, Nebukadineze and others wrestle with legalities and Illegalities in Abia State
Mazi Adiele,
I just concisely perused your write-up below. Of much importance to me was your narrative of the Nigerian constitution relative to the grounds on which Mr. T. A. Orji was deprived the mandate as Abia State governor. Assuming the narrative you provided are exactly verbatum with the constitution of Nigeria, the finding of the Tribunal is then in order.
If you carefully read Section 318 (1) (c) of the constitution which you presented in your report, it states: "...member or staff of any Commission or authority established for the State by this Constitution or by a Law of a House of Assembly." Based on this description, the finding is in order; if it is proven that Mr. T. A. Orji did not resign his position as Chief of Staff within 30 days prior to seeking the governorship position. Please understand that the position of the Chief of Staff is established and/or governed by the constitution.
In like manner, Section 318 (1) (b) (c) on what a Secret Society is, are very clear and uncomplicated for an average novice. I urge you to go back and read these sections carefully and closely.
Under Civil law, the court decision is based on "A Preponderence of Evidence". As narrated in the Vanguard newspaper report I read, it was documented that Mr. Orji failed to provide any counter rebutal to disproof his membership to cult group. Moreover, he failed to dispute that the picture tendered as exhibit / evidence in the case was not him. He failed to offer any explanation regarding his attire in the picture and the circumstances under which such regalia was required.
Given the Constitutional explanations, it may be a tough sale for Mr. T. A. Orji to successfully appeal. Nevertheless, that does warrant that the mandate should be reverted to Chief Onyema. The right decision should be to authorize a new election.
OJ Douglas Igwe
Oke Osisi
Nebukadineze@aol.com wrote:
Roguery Reigns In Abia State Too
A day before a clearly crooked presidential election tribunal insulted the intelligence of Nigerians, by using farcical deployment of aspects of the law to carry out the affirmation of Yar’Adua/Goodluck as president and vice president respectively, a roguish governorship election tribunal in Abia state had done worse. It is clear to clean minds that the presidential election petition perverted the rules of evidence at will, astronomically escalated the legally required litmus test petitioners had to meet to prove that a wrong was wrought to them during the election, and egregiously demanded proof of speculative election outcome from petitioners. It is also abundantly clear to legal minds that the Abia state governorship election tribunal tossed the Nigerians constitution into the toilet in order to foist PDP’s Ugochukwu Onyeama on the people of Abia State. If the action of this Abia election tribunal is not roundly condemned and reversed by higher courts, any reign of Onyeama as governor of Abia state will be nothing short of the reign of roguery.
Before some uncouth urchins utter their signature curse words—accuse me of having gotten paid to express my opinion—let me make it clear that I am not a supporter of T.A. Orji or that of the PPA. I write more in condemnation of injustice than in defending T. A. Orji. In this respect, I have been consistent because when Orji was “elected†governor, while in jail awaiting trial for a slew of corruption charges, I raised hell and wished that the EFCC and the courts would not release him to become governor. I was chagrined that a man, whose alleged crimes were hefty enough that a court denied him bail, could “win†election in Igbo land from prison. In 2003 when Iyiola Omisoro pulled a similar feat, by “wining†a senate seat from Osun state while awaiting trial for the murder of Bola Ige, I was one of the decent Nigerians who thought that act was so aberrational that it could never happen again elsewhere in Nigeria. Also, when the Nigerian Supreme Court defied the constitution by appointing Chibuike Amaechi governor of Rivers State, I raised hell because it was an unjust ruling. The dire implication of the Supreme Court’s unjust decision in Amaechi Vs Omehia/PDP is now made clearer to Nigerians as the presidential election tribunal relied partly on it to carry out its unjust decision last Tuesday. The point to all this is that I am as clear as day light or am as consistent as Tuesday succeeding Monday when condemning injustice.
In Abia state, the gubernatorial election tribunal quashed the election of governor T.A. Orji on the grounds that he failed to resign, within 30-days to the election, from his position as Chief of Staff to the former governor, and also on the conclusion that T.A. Orji belongs/belonged to a secrete society. This conclusion of the tribunal’s, from which it made its ruling, is a perversion of what the Nigerian constitution says on these two matters.
It is true that section 182 (1)(g)(h) states that one may be disqualified from being a governor if:
>>(g) being a person employed in the public service of the Federation or of any State, he has not resigned, withdrawn or retired from the employment at least thirty days to the date of the election; or (h) he is a member of any secret society<<.
The same constitution, in section 318(1), defined what constitutes being employed by a public service as follows:
>>"public service of a State’ means the service of the State in any capacity in respect of the Government of the State and includes service as:
(a) Clerk or other staff of the House of Assembly;
(b) member of staff of the High Court, the Sharia court of Appeal, the Customary Court of Appeal; or other courts established for a State by this Constitution or by a Law of a House of Assembly;
(c) member or staff of any commission or authority established for the State by this Constitution or by a Law of a House of Assembly;
(d) staff of any local government council;
(e) staff of any statutory corporation established by a Law of a House of Assembly;
(f) staff of any educational institution established or financed principally by a government of a State; and
(g) staff of any company or enterprise in which the government of a State or its agency holds controlling shares or interest<<
From the above, it obvious that political appointees of the governor's were not envisioned or mentioned by the constitution to abide by the 30-day resignation requirement. Yet a roguish election tribunal chairman construed the constitution nefariously and undid the supposed wishes of the Abia electorate.
On the second ground for quashing the election, the constitution (318(1)) defines a secret society as follows:
>>"Secret society" includes any society, association, group or body of persons (whether registered or not)
(a) that uses secret signs, oaths, rites or symbols and which is formed to promote a cause, the purpose or part of the purpose of which is to foster the interest of its members and to aid one another under any circumstances without due regard to merit, fair play or justice to the detriment of the legitimate interest of those who are not members;
(b) the membership of which is incompatible with the function or dignity of any public office under this Constitution and whose members are sworn to observe oaths of secrecy; or
(c) the activities of which are not known to the public at large, the names of whose members are kept secret and whose meetings and other activities are held in secret<<
From the above, only a court of competent jurisdiction can declare that someone belongs to a secret society. For that to happen, a trial to that effect must hold, after which evidence must confirm that what the person belongs to meets every definition of secret society as enshrined in the constitution. The election tribunal is not competent to make this declaration or to nullify the election of a governor based on that without importing the ruling of a court of qualified jurisdiction in that regard.
On the two grounds on which T.A.Orji’s election was quashed, the tribunal either willfully or incompetently abused the constitution of the land. Nigerians who abhor injustice must speak against this irrespective of their feelings about T.A. Orji and the politics of Abia state. You cannot be a bona fide believer in the rule of law if you personalize the fight against injustice. You condemn injustice even when it is visited upon your enemy. Not doing so gives injustice the license to drive on and no one knows on whose porch it may crash next. Yes, roguery reigns in Abia state. We must, in unison, attack it as much as we attack its national hydra headed counterpart. Just as I was tireless in castigating the Supreme Court for violating the constitution, when it imposed an unelected Chibuike Amaechi on Rivers state as governor, I make bold in chastising the election tribunal of Abia state on this matter too. I ask you join me!
Nebukadineze Adiele |
