An Ambush Of The Law

Analysts pick holes in the judgement of Abia State Local Government Election Appeal Tribunal on the 2008 Aba South Local Government election and alledge the tribunal favours the ruling party because of pecuniary benefit

By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu

The judgement of the Justice Agwu Ukpai Kalu-led Abia State Local Government Election Appeal Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, the state capital may have resolved the electoral dispute between Chief Okezie Erondu of the ruling Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA, and Dr. Christian Okoli of the Action Congress, AC, but the controversy trailing it has refused to die. The battle was over the chairmanship of Aba South local government, which the Abia State Independent Electoral Commission, ABSIEC, declared Erondu winner on January 19, 2008. The commission conducted elections in 16 out of 17 local government areas of the state.
Okoli had contested the decision of ABSIEC and subsequently petitioned the Local Government Election Petitions Tribunal headed by Chief Magistrate John Ukpabi. The tribunal, on November 6, 2008 reversed the decision of the electoral commission and ordered that Okoli be sworn in immediately in consonance with section 215(1) of Abia State Local Government Law No.3 of 2006 which says that “any candidate declared winner by the electoral tribunal as elected shall from the time of the decision of the election tribunal be deemed to be duly elected until any determination of the competent high court to the contrary, on the appeal.” The tribunal chairman contended that “the intention of the lawmaker in respect of subsection (1), to my humble view is that the loser at the election tribunal vacates office immediately the election tribunal makes the pronouncement that the petitioner won the election. The loser has the right of appeal but must appeal after vacating office. In other words, the person declared winner by the election tribunal immediately takes over the running of the office.” But ABSIEC refused to issue Dr. Okoli certificate of return in flagrant disrespect to the provisions of the law. The body instead went on appeal on November 17, 2008 against the judgement before the Justice Agwu Ukpai Kalu appeal tribunal. Erondu was, before he decided to contest in the local government election, a member of ABSIEC. It was believed that the commission was sympathetic to his plight.
While the appeal was however going on, Dr. Okoli was allegedly framed up in the kidnap of Professor Stephen Emejuaiwe, the chairman of ABSIEC and was subsequently incarcerated.
In his judgement on the appeal however, Justice Kalu noted that Dr. Okoli was not qualified to contest the election on the basis that he could not produce ABSIEC form 7 which qualified him as a candidate. But some residents of the state believed the judgement was flawed. Peter Ofor, a public affairs analyst contended that the election itself was shoddily conducted and ABSIEC did not find it expedient to issue even results to winners because they assumed it was a PPA affair. Based on this, the commission failed to do what the law required it to do at the appropriate time.
There were said to be some anomalies in the ABSIEC form issued to Dr. Okoli. While the form was dated 31/12/07, the party's letter conveying his nomination was dated 2/1/08. Also, the name on the controversial form 9 was Nwachukwu Okoli Chukwuma while the actual name of the AC candidate is Dr. Okoli Christian Nwachukwu. The judge said the candidate's form must have been previously submitted to ABSIEC by his party which was why it appeared on the said form 9.
Justice Kalu was accused of playing the government's card in the petition so as to be favoured as chief judge of the state when the incumbent retires next year.