Ugochukwu Heads To Appeal Court … Seeks Declaration As Abia Gov

Chief Onyema Ugochukwu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the 2007 election in Abia State has returned to the Court of Appeal, asking it to declare him the duly elected governor as he claims he had earlier been declared by the state governorship election petition tribunal in January 2008.
The appeal tribunal had on February 11, 2009, upturned the lower tribunal’s verdict in favour of Ugochukwu’s rival, Dr. Theodore Orji of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA).
Ugochukwu told journalists at the weekend at his country home in Ohuhu, Umuahia North Council, that he had decided to return to the Appeal Court asking for a reversal of the judgment passed in favour of Orji.
According to Ugochukwu, the matter is as fresh as ever, even though it is generally believed that the appellate court was the last destination in the gubernatorial election petition.
His words: “This fight is not over, and we are going to carry it to its end. I am fully prepared to do anything possible to see the end of this matter. This time around, the resumed legal battle at the appellate level is going to be fought at the newly established Court of Appeal division in Owerri, since Abia has been removed from the jurisdiction of the Appeal Court, Port Harcourt division”.
Asked why he decided to refresh the case, Ugochukwu alleged that the February 11, 2009 Appeal Court judgment was an injustice perpetrated by the learned justices who heard the matter because they knew they had the final say.
He however insisted that using such power to perpetrate injustice would not stand, as there is a constitutional provision which an aggrieved party at the appellate court can exploit and seek a reversal of a bad judgment.
“When a bad judgment has been given, our constitution allows for that judgment to be reversed,” he said, adding that as far as his party is concerned, the Appeal Court judgment given in Port Harcourt in respect of the Abia State election petition was a nullity, which should not be allowed to stand.