I have been reading all manners of publications on Dr Alex Otti’s criticism of Sen T.A Orji over the latter’s intervention at the INEC office during the 2015 general election which saw the emergence of the first Ngwa Governor. I learnt that Otti, in the course of his declaration to contest another Governorship election, had accused the former Governor of committing a crime when he intervened against a broad day light robbery that would have occasioned the greatest global injustice to the entire people of Ukwa/Ngwa extraction in Abia State.
May I use this privilege to persuade our former Governor and his Media Team to desist from dissipating time, energy and resources in joining issues with Dr Alex Otti and his supporters, who are jointly swimming in the same ocean of ignorance over a matter that was adjudged illegal, frivolous, inconsequential, nonsensical and completely dead on arrival in the Tribunal days.
I cannot in this platform, teach or educate the APGA Governorship aspirant and his supporters on the meaning of CRIME under the Nigeria legal system. If he must request for such knowledge, let him do proper consultation and pay the requisite professional fees thereto. Thereafter, he will be fed with the right information with respect to what amounts to a crime under our relevant statutes.
In sane climes, aspirants do not mount the podium to deliver speeches without being properly censored. It sounds too ridiculous to be hammering on a matter that has been concluded and adjudged rightly even before the wise men in this part of the world. To be frank, Dr Alex Otti was traumatized by that timeous intervention by the former Governor and he still feels the scares of that wound till this day.
Coming to the issue, immediately after INEC declared Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu as the winner of the 2015 Gubernatorial election, Otti hired a team of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who repeatedly pressured the Tribunal on this same case of Sen T.A’s intervention at the INEC office. I am an eye witness to their numerous Lamentations on this same matter. Of course, everyone knows that I was the one responsible for report of all those proceedings in the social media. At the end of the day, all their arguments and pleadings to nullify that election on ground of massive irregularities and at the same time, declare Dr Alex Otti winner of that same election, ended in futility. The Tribunal held the entire petition DEAD ON ARRIVAL.
It is also pertinent to recall that a Governor, as the Chief Security Officer of a State, has every right to intervene or report in any part of the State where there is serious allegation on breach of security or allegation over conduct likely to cause breach of peace in the State. There is no doubt that the conduct of the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Umuahia amounted to conduct likely to cause breach of peace in the State. Free, fair and peaceful election has been conducted at the various Polling Units in the 17 Local Governments across the State. Results were also collated at the various Collation Centers in the entire 17 Local Governments across the State and in the presence of all the Party agents and/or representatives. Thereafter, all the representatives proceeded to the INEC Office in Umuahia for confirmation of those results and declaration of the winner thereof as expressly stipulated in our electoral law. It is worthy to note that no single result was cancelled at the various Polling Units across the State. Similarly, no single result was cancelled at the various Collation Centers in the 17 Local Government Areas across the State. To everyone’s greatest surprise, the REC, either suo motu or under undue influence, acted ultra vires her powers by cancelling the results of 3 Local Governments. Hewu! Laalooolooeee…..
Ladies and gentlemen, if they had cancelled others and left OBINGWA, probably, they would have succeeded. Their game plan failed when they ignorantly included the stronghold of a Governorship aspirant. They induced INEC to cancel even the vote of the aspirant himself. That was quite incredible. The conduct of INEC is such that would have occasioned breach of peace in the entire State. It was completely illegal.
Without mincing words, Sen T.A Orji’s intervention was timeous and just. The purported allegation of crime cannot and will never be sustained under our criminal justice system. If at all anybody should be investigated, it should be those that attempted to execute that obvious electoral malpractice. Till date, Abians are yet to understand what really induced the INEC Boss in Umuahia to perform that electoral magic or wonder. To be frank, if what she did was right or lawful, no amount of persuasion or threat would have compelled her to reverse her decision. Instruction came from INEC Headquarters which compelled her to do the proper thing.
Assuming REC refused to reverse that decision, what would have happened to her? Are we saying that Senator T.A Orji would have ordered for her execution or what? Nothing would have happened to her. She acknowledged her mistake and quickly corrected it the moment her attention was drawn to it in line with the relevant provisions of our electoral laws on cancellation of results. This is rational.
Now, having done the needful more than 3 years ago, having litigated on it more than 3 years ago and having seen the handwork of the rightful winner of that election, why are we worrying over a finished and/or concluded business? Crying over a just concluded matter while preparing for another election sounds too ridiculous. In fact, it does not show any seriousness and readiness to contest in 2019 as the memories of the past are still threatening to the aspiration of Dr Otti and his supporters.
Dede Otti, forget the past and move forward if you have the capacity to challenge Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, who the totality of Abians have adopted to return to the Government House, come 2019.
Okezie, E GO GO AGAIN!
WATCH VIDEO HOW OTTI VISITED INEC OFFICE
