This case reveals a lacuna in our existing laws. Sections 31(5) and 31(6) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) are set on a collision course: While Section 31(5) strongly encourages anyone who finds that a candidate has filed for an election with false documents to go to court; Section 31(6) merely says, “… the court shall issue an order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election” – not after contesting the election.
By Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan
In Nigeria, the end of an election is invariably the beginning of a war. That is when activities shift from the campaign grounds to the courtrooms; and that begins the process where the collective decisions of the vast majority are vetoed by a microscopic minority. This is pseudo democracy.
It is difficult to envisage what Abia State is being turned into. Many combatants went to the 2015 war, with the PDP having at least three of the gladiators at its primaries – incumbent Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, Dr. Sampson Ogah and Sir Friday Nwosu.
Problems started multiplying on June 27 2016 with two judgments delivered by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, sacking Ikpeazu from Office; and ordering that Ogah who came second at the party’s primaries be sworn-in as the Governor.
The INEC quickly issued a Certificate of Return to Ogah.
But on June 30, before Ogah could be sworn in, Ikpeazu obtained a counter-order from Justice C. H. Ahuchaogu of the Abia State High Court sitting at Osisioma, restraining the Chief Judge of Abia State, Justice Theresa Uzokwe, or any judge, from administering the oath of office on Ogah.
Meanwhile, Sir Friday Nwosu is in court seeking an order for him to be declared the authentic governor of Abia State. He claims that by an act of omission, Ogah had lost his right to the position. Hear him: “Dr. Ogah should not be allowed to benefit from an exercise he totally condemned by refusing to sign the result and petitioning the party to conduct another primary election… In the eye of the law, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu and Sir Friday Nwosu were the only candidates who ran for the party’s primary… Since Ikpeazu has been disqualified, I remain the lawful candidate of the PDP and ought to be declared Governor.”
As we gradually approach the “Try Your Luck” level in Abia State, two possibilities are staring us in the face: First, who says the Deputy Governor, Ude Oko Chukwu, would not someday soon begin to seek a full interpretation of his role? He was sworn into office with his principal and now that the principal is disqualified, should he not be elevated to the position of governor?
Secondly, Alex Otti of APGA gave Ikpeazu a good run for his money. At the election, he scored a total of 180,882 votes to come second to Ikpeazu who scored 264,713 votes. On a moral high ground and in a situation where those who lifted no finger in furtherance of their ambition want to be declared governor, shouldn’t he be the one to step into Ikpeazu’s shoes?
Luck may, however, not take them too far because contrary to popular opinion, Ogah’s issue is a pre-election case. It pre-dates Ikpeazu’s swearing-in as governor as well as Otti’s election results and Chukwu’s emergence as Deputy Governor.
Ogah went to court soon after the PDP primaries, when the Appeal Panel failed to respond to his complaint about Ikpeazu’s ineligibility for the election.
When Ogah approached the court in 2014, Ikpeazu challenged the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the case.
The appeal process travelled the entire labyrinth to the Supreme Court where the ruling was given that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to hear the case.
Ogah’s case has consistently been that Ikpeazu was ineligible to participate in the primaries because of his failure to pay his tax as at when due, as required by the Nigerian Constitution and other extant laws.
Ikpeazu’s Tax Clearance Certificate sworn to at Aba High Court showed that his Tax Receipt for December 2011 is 0012849; that of December 2012 is 0012846; that of December 2013 is 0012847; and December 2014 is 0012848.
That’s where Ogah smelt a rat – if a man used one booklet to pay his four years tax, what other evidence of bulk-tax payment is anyone still expecting? In any case, how could Tax Receipt No 0012849 come first instead of coming last?
This case reveals a lacuna in our existing laws. Sections 31(5) and 31(6) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) are set on a collision course: While Section 31(5) strongly encourages anyone who finds that a candidate has filed for an election with false documents to go to court; Section 31(6) merely says, “… the court shall issue an order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election” – not after contesting the election.
What then happens if a pre-election case is not fully determined before the election? It is highly improbable that the intension of the law was that any matter not fully decided should be discarded. For us, once started, the judicial dance must be carried through to the end. The current case could begin to supply some of the pertinent answers.
The psychological import of this case is important. How many people really realize that judges, too, are human? Apparently, Justice Abang was reacting to some external stimuli. This is one case where people tried to rubbish the judicial process. We saw how Ikpeazu took everyone on a voyage of discovery, dribbling to disqualify every court and every judge from trying him – no wonder the case went into extra-time.
Even after it had been decided that the Federal High Court could try the case, the first judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, was brow-beaten to submission and accused of bias to the extent that he had to withdraw from the case. All these slaps on the face of the judiciary came home to roost in Justice Abang’s seemingly harsh decision. It is not always smart to be smart.
All told, Abia must get out of this logjam. There is no alternative here to maintaining the status quo until the final determination by the Supreme Court. The appellate Courts must expeditiously dispose of this case. Elsewhere in the more advanced democracies, this is the type of case in which the courts would sit overnight and come up with a decision within 24 hours. This we recommend!
Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan is a public affairs analyst and Chairman, Board of Directors, Edo Broadcasting Service. He can be reached at: joligien@yahoo.com
