chaos broke out constitutionally in Abia State, yesterday, after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, issued a certificate of return to Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship claimant, Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah.
The commission said its action was on the basis of a court ruling, Monday, by an Abuja Federal High Court which removed Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu from office as governor of the state, allegedly for failing to fulfil requirements expected of a candidate for the governorship. The INEC action immediately paralysed activities in the Ikpeazu-controlled Government House in Umuahia, setting anxiety among officials and other stakeholders. A widely-publicised lecture to be delivered by Ikpeazu at the Abia State University, Uturu at 11.00 a.m., for which most of Ikpeazu’s cabinet had converged was unceremoniously aborted, following news of the development in Abuja. Ikpeazu in a riposte, filed and obtained an injunction from an Abia High Court stopping the state chief judge, the president of the Customary Court of Appeal or any other judicial officer from swearing Ogah into office. In a move interpreted by some as keeping Ogah at bay, the Ikpeazu administration declared today and Monday public holidays. The administration said the public holidays were to honour Chief Ojo Maduekwe, who died on Wednesday. Such developments followed yesterday’s issuance of a certificate of return to Ogah who was runner-up in the PDP governorship primary won by Ikpeazu. Two stakeholders in the PDP, Obasi Uba Ekagbara and Chukwuemeka Mba, had taken Ikpeazu to court, following his emergence as candidate, that he was not qualified to become governor on the grounds that his tax papers were deficient. In his declaratory ruling on Monday, Justice Okon Abang who heard the case, agreed that Ikpeazu’s tax and income papers were defective, saying he was not qualified to be the candidate of the PDP and immediately ordered that the runner-up in the primary, Ogah, be sworn in as governor. Ikpeazu had on Wednesday, filed his appeal against the judgment and had also declared that he would remain governor.
