Just as mother cannot forget her suckling child, the leader of the special Task Force and Director, Legal Services at the INEC headquarters, Abuja will never expose nor subject Rivers PDP to any form of ridicule in the raging controversy over forensic inspection of electoral materials needed as evidence by the APC at the tribunal.
Unknown to most persons, Bawa was the architect of the infamous coup that ousted Chief G. U. Ake from office as the State Chairman of PDP.
As the Director of Legal Services, he colluded with the Legal Adviser of PDP and Prince Uche Secondus to alter the list of Rivers state PDP exco at INEC.
It’s certain that he did not perform the task unrewarded.
When the matter came up at the Federal High Court, Abuja, Bawa sent lawyers to defend the list of the exco as tendered by Wike’s surrogates. They recognised Felix Obuah and Ibibia Walter as Chairman and Secretary respectively even when both men never participated in the PDP primaries.
When Gov. Amaechi got wind of Bawa’s role, he immediately confronted him and then reported the matter to Prof. Jega, the then Chairman of INEC. Jega was said to have summoned Bawa to his office where he merely scolded him instead of suspending him.
Incidentally, the APC led by Amaechi is faced with several landmines on its arduous journey to justice. Again, they have Bawa to contend with.
His actions are not devoid of pretensions, as he frustrated the court orders served by the tribunal on the issue of inspection of materials. For two months, he practically refused to instruct the legal officer in Port Harcourt to obey the orders of the court.
Not done with his insidious plans to frustrate the APC, Bawa took up the responsibility of leading the Special Task Force set up by the Commission to supervise the inspection of materials in Port Harcourt. With tales and plots of power failure and sabotaged Generators over, this undercover agent of Wike and PDP has resorted to another form of denial tactics. As the Ag. Chairman of INEC, Amina Zakari ordered yesterday that APC be allowed to obtain evidence of the elections conducted and results announced through a proper inspection which includes scanning, cropping and forensic analysis, Bawa in his own devices has played into the hands of Mr. Ikpeazu, INEC Solicitor who has interpreted Zakari’s internal memo to suit their intentions.
The level of intrigues perpetuated by INEC officials is more than meets the eye. 24 hours after Zakari’s instructions, Bawa says he needs to furnish the Chairman with his opinion on the matter.
It is evident that with Bawa, that inspection may never take place. Since he prefers to play the ostrich, he deserves to be given the Marilyn Ogar treatment now! It is risky to have him remain as the Director of Legal Services, deciding on a matter in which he has interest in and is heavily compromised. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. APC! don’t say I didn’t tell you!!
Chief Oby Ndukwe is the Publisher of THE BEAM MAGAZINE
