- By Peter Agba Kalu
Politicians will always be politician just like a snake will always be snake. Even at this age of Peter Obi, lots of politicians have failed to learn from what made him exceptional.
If you noticed, of recent, l have been busy jumping across the various parties, from APGA, APC, Labour, ADC, PDP etc, trying to analyze internal events going on and rooting out the truth without taking stand. Even when my friends are involved l took the risk of entering their bad book by standing on the truth even if it is against them. The truth in spite of who is involved is what l owe everyone that reads me and holds me in high esteem. Based on that, l am on a second missionary journey to Abia State APC.
Something funny is going on in Abia State APC that will tell you that some politicians hardly learn from history. Little wonder they keep on repeating it. There’s one man at the center of these drama, who wanted to make himself the emperor of the party at state level. Who boasted that he has successfully pocketed the party and took steps to literally impose himself as the governorship candidate of the party.
He didn’t just stop there, he went further to plan, like other feeble men that took the place of God Almighty do plan. He wanted to distribute offices to men as he wish and according to your low level of sycophantic attributes and praises to him. Like the wise said; ‘man propose God dispose’. All these attempt to play God seem to be working for him until the new executives were elected after the APC National Convention. They saw reason and decided to serve the people instead of a man.
As a result of the disharmony in Abia APC, several attempt were made to harmonize the party and around 5 meetings were held in this regard, but the same man said no. He insisted that the best way to have peace is only if he pockets Abia APC and act as the Alpha & Omega. Knowing the full implications of allowing him to impose himself as a consensus candidate of the party without meeting the legal requirements demanded of the party, the legal department of the party advised the national body on DIRECT primaries so that every aspirant will go and test their strength. (See attached document below).
Based on the above legal advise the national body of APC decided that the best path to peace will be DIRECT primaries. They issued a letter to that effect dated 25th May, which INEC acknowledged on 26th May. If you have been involved in the system you noticed that letters are acknowledged immediately they are received.
Among the two waring parties the one who insisted that he must be crowned the emperor of the party went to town with the news that President Buhari handed the structures of the party over to him as a parting gift-which is a lie anyway, went ahead to ignore the national party executive directives.
He organized a Coronation ceremony and without following due process, he crowned himself the Abia Caesar of APC. Non of all the other 5 governorship aspirant of the party attended his coronation ceremony. They were not invited anyway, and besides, an order not to allow them in was subtly made a public knowledge. The same attitude was extend to INEC officials.
The other camp wisely followed the directives of the national party as advised by their legal department. Polling 141, 950 votes from the various wards in the 17 LGs in Abia State, Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah emerged winner. Other aspirants congratulated him. INEC that observed the DIRECT primaries acting on the national party directives took official note.
That was where and when the real drama started playing out. Realising that his grip on the party is gone, the Ikechi Emenike camp that lost out started a desperate attempt to reverse the legal election and impose their own illegality.
Remember, l started by telling you that politicians will always be politicians. They recruited one of the APC governors in the east and pressure was piled on the national party executives to reverse their order for a DIRECT primary. This was coming weeks after the INEC timetable for governorship primaries has elapsed. Like Sam Ohuabunwa said, some people when they see the colour of dollars will forget their surname. Few party executives sat and issued a second letter for indirect primaries. But instead of the second letter helping Emenike it went further to nail him.
See attached letters and see the date INEC stamped received on the directive for DIRECT PRIMARIES from the party.
Weeks after this directive has been complied with INEC acknowledged another letter after their timetable for primaries has expired.
Let me explain what happened in simple term, the letter dated 26th May, which is the second letter cannot be forwarded to INEC a day after their first 25th May letter, which gave order for Director primary. It was back dated. They cannot write a letter to INEC and keep it for over 2 weeks at this critical time. The letter was written just this 15th June, was backdated and sent to INEC, who played safe and dated exact date of receipt of the letter-16th June. You see? Lies has a way of exposing those romancing it.
It simply means that the executive of the party reversed self and notified INEC which was supposed to supervise the election days after their directives for DIRECT primary has been carried out. The truth is that INEC received the letter weeks after their timetable for the primary election has gone.
This is powerful documented evidence to show that any primary before this notification that isn’t DIRECT is illegal. If APC accepts any candidate that didn’t comply with the first DIRECT primary directive then Abia APC is as good as not having any candidate.
This letter justifies the first order to do DIRECT PRIMARIES. The issue now is beyond APC once you go contrary to INEC timetable you are out of the contest. The greatest undoing of this letter is that it shows a desperate attempt by man to reverse the hand of the clock. The two documents they have produced so far ended up shooting them on their toe. The reserve court judgment is proof that the first judgment was legal. Now, this attempt to reverse the hand of time is evidence that the first directive for the DIRECT primary was legal too.
To Emenike, this letter is a desperate attempt by some people under pressure to hand you a live snake and move on. Whichever funds were collected from the one pressuring them has been justified.
Moreover, Emenike carried out his coronation ceremony when there was an existing court ruling against his membership in APC. It was reversed at the high court and Appeal Court is deliberating on it. Once they uphold the suspension it means everything in Abia APC is shattered. That’s too big a risk for the party to take.
See the referenced documents below:
Peter Agba Kalu Writes from Abia State
