Politics
Soludo: ‘INEC Must Redeem Self’
The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to redeem itself and recognise ‘legitimate’ candidates of the party in the November 6 governorship election.
National Chairman of the party, Mr Victor Oye , who made the call on Saturday while briefing newsmen in Abuja said that there was only one APGA, which was led by him, with Labaran Maku as National Secretary.
The Tide reports that INEC had originally received the names of Chukwuma Soludo and his running mate, Mr Onyekachi Ibezim as candidates of APGA.
However, citing a court ruling, the electoral umpire dropped the names and replaced them with Chukwuma Umeoji and Obiageli Orogbu as the new candidates of APGA.
Reacting to the development, the APGA national chairman faulted the action of INEC in recognising an illegal body and illegal candidates.
He said that the party was one, had no faction and its leadership which came on board in May 2019 was the legitimate body of APGA at the national level.
“Our leadership was duly elected on May 31, 2019, in a well organised national convention in Awka, and attended by all the organs of the party expected to be at the convention.
“On the roll, we have 608 members of NEC but what you saw on June 25 was a contraction, they gathered men and women from the streets not up to 50 and they called it NEC meeting .
“Again, what INEC did, we were the first political party that uploaded the particulars of our governorship candidate and deputy to INEC on July 2, in accordance with the electoral act.
“According to section 313, of the electoral Act 2010 as amended, INEC is expected to have published that name within seven days of uploading of those particulars but they waited till July 15, 13 days after to concoct what they did on July 16, 2021.
“For me, the only way INEC can redeem their image is to reverse itself immediately, they should not wait for one minute.
“After all, there is a court judgment from Awka that has given them a soft landing, the judgment from Awka was very clear .
“The judgment solved all the legal puzzles you could ever think of, so what is holding INEC from implementing that,” he said.
He expressed hope that INEC in its proposed meeting on Tuesday, would reverse itself and recognise the right candidates.
Oye used the opportunity to stress that there was no crisis in the party, adding that APGA remained one and united.
He described those parading as a faction of the party as mere invaders.
“The thing is that we have invaders, they invaded our party, street urchins ‘with a master plan to destroy the party for the benefit of a particular aspirant’.
He said the aspirant in question had bought forms, attended the screening and was screened out, wrote a petition which was dismissed before resorting to forming a phantom group which he called the opposition of APGA.
“APGA has no other national chairman and no other national leadership except the one led by me as national chairman and his Mr Labaran Maku as the National Secretary.
“No other faction so to speak has the right, constitutional, legal or legitimate right to speak for our party.
“So the truth of the matter is that, out party is waxing stronger and stronger despite the distractions because the whole essence of what is happening is to distract us from focusing on victory in Anambra.
“They know that a united and undistracted APGA will win the election massively, they knew what happened in 2017 so they are afraid it will be repeated in 2021,” he said.
The APGA chairman, however, stressed that the party was taking due steps to ensure the right thing was done by INEC.
He said the party under his leadership had served INEC the court order which he noted that the commission had minuted to the relevant quarters.
“We have also written the Chairman of INEC, drawing his attention, calling all the legal odysseys, we had embarked upon from 2019 till date.
“Do not forget that we have a subsisting court judgment flowing from the Anambra Judiciary Awka division,” he said.
“The judgment was given in November 2019, giving the legality to the national convention conducted by our party that the convention that produced us as national officers of the
party, held on May 31, 2019.
“Why did INEC not bank on that judgment to publish the names of our candidates, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo and his deputy Dr Onyeakachi Ibezim.
“Why should INEC consider a judgment from Birnin Kudu Jigawa, 9,046 kilo meters from Akwa.
“That judgment did not say anything about me, the judgment was talking about Edozie Njoku. So the court sacked Edozie Njoku, it did not sack me. Edozie Njoku has never been the national chairman of APGA .
“There was a court order from Federal High court Awka, directing INEC to maintain the status quo and publish Soludo’s name as given to it on July 2, 2021 but INEC did not obey that court order.
“We served INEC the court judgment from Awka on November 2020, it did not obey it. INEC must do the right thing and publish the names of legitimate candidates of the party,” he said.
The event, jointly organised by LP and ADC to publicly acknowledge the movement of party members, was first scheduled to hold at the LP secretariat in Idimu.
However, chaos erupted when more than 100 suspected thugs reportedly stormed the premises, forcing party members and officials to flee.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers, some armed with knives, canes and other dangerous objects, assaulted individuals they encountered during the invasion.
The assailants were also heard chanting hostile slogans, declaring that LP and ADC were not welcome in Lagos State.
Several party members sustained injuries in the process, while party property, including furniture and flags, were vandalised.
Despite the disruption, officials of both parties quickly relocated the programme to an alternative venue, the Eco Centre Event Hall in Egbeda, in a bid to continue the ceremony.
Speaking on the incident, the LP Chairman in Alimosho, Mr Olanrewaju Olushola, popularly known as Heritage, condemned the attack, describing it as unprovoked and alarming, especially with the 2027 general elections approaching.
“What is most painful is that most of my members sustained varying degrees of wounds. This is in spite of the hoodlums going into our party secretariat in Alimosho and destroying our furniture and flags,” he said.
Mr Olushola clarified that the defection itself had already taken place, stressing that Saturday’s gathering was merely a symbolic ceremony to inform the public of their decision.
According to him, nearly all LP members in Alimosho, including the party’s leadership structure, had collectively agreed to move to the ADC.
Also speaking, the party’s Secretary in Alimosho, Mr Moses Akujuobi, explained that plans for an open defection ceremony had earlier been halted by the police, who cited the absence of formal approval.
He said the organisers had reached out to the Area M Commander, ACP Abaniwonda, who reportedly informed them that only the Commissioner of Police could authorise political events in the state.
“Incidentally, we could not reach the CP, but we informed the DSS, after which we went ahead since it wasn’t a rally but a quiet ceremony,” Mr Akujuobi said.
He added that the situation became more tense upon arrival at the initial venue.
“When we got to the venue this morning, we were shocked to see police vans with heavily armed policemen. They informed us that we cannot hold the event and referred us to the police commissioner.
“While we were at it, the hoodlums besieged the place and began to beat people, leading to our deserting the venue,” he explained.
Mr Akujuobi said party officials subsequently contacted members by phone to proceed to the second venue in Egbeda, where the programme resumed briefly.
“We, however, began to contact our members through phones to move to the second venue, which is the Eco Event Centre, and everyone witnessed what took place here.
“The hoodlums got wind of our second venue and equally attacked us, beating up our members again,” he added.
He noted that the decision to defect to the ADC was driven by internal leadership challenges within the Labour Party and protracted legal disputes affecting the party.
Shortly after the hoodlums vacated the second venue, several police vans carrying armed officers reportedly arrived at the location.
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has strongly rejected calls by the Supreme Council for Shari’ah in Nigeria seeking the removal of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Amupitan, over comments he allegedly made on genocide.
The Fellowship described the demand as unjustified and a threat to constitutional freedoms.
In a statement signed by its National Secretary, Bishop David Bakare, the PFN insisted that Prof Amupitan, like every Nigerian, has the constitutional right to express his views on matters of national concern, irrespective of the public office he occupies.
According to the PFN, the comments attributed to the INEC Chairman were made in his personal capacity and had no link whatsoever with his official responsibilities or electoral duties.
The Fellowship stressed that elections and electoral activities were not involved in the matter, arguing that there was no basis to connect the alleged comments to Prof Amupitan’s role as INEC Chairman.
“We strongly oppose such calls because Prof. Amupitan, as a Nigerian, has the right to make comments on what he observes to be happening in the nation, regardless of his appointment or assignment,” the statement read.
The PFN said it condemned “in every ramification” the suggestion that the INEC Chairman should be removed from office on the basis of his personal views, warning against attempts to punish public officials for expressing opinions outside the scope of their official duties.
The Tide source reports that the Fellowship also cautioned against what it described as a growing tendency to interpret national issues through religious lenses, noting that such an approach only deepens divisions and undermines peaceful coexistence.
“We must resist the temptation of profiling or judging people based on their religious beliefs or positions. Prof. Amupitan has a right to bear his mind, and this should not be at the cost of his job,” the PFN added.
The PFN called on all stakeholders to exercise restraint, understanding and mutual respect in national discourse, particularly on sensitive issues.
It emphasised that unity and peace must remain paramount in addressing national challenges.
The Fellowship reaffirmed its commitment to fairness, justice and mutual respect, urging that these values guide public engagement and responses to issues affecting the country.
In A Statement Issued On Saturday, Mr Obiorah Ifoh, The Factional Spokesperson, Described The Decision Of The Electoral Body As Strange.
Mr Ifoh Also Said The Sacked Factional Leadership Of The Party Will Protest The Action Of INEC.
Stating That Judgment Of The Court And The Decision Of INEC Will Not Stop Its Members From Putting Up A Strong Appearance In The Forthcoming 2027 General Election, Mr Ifoh Noted Legal Redress Would Be Sought By LP.
He Said, “Some Persons Who Are Applauding The Impunity By Some Politicians Should Retrace And Do Some Introspection, Because This Was How In The Past They Applauded Injustice In Our Democracy Because They Were Beneficiaries.
“At The End Of The Day, When Their Enthroned Leaders Began To Abuse Power, They Started Complaining.
“For Us In Labour Party, Our Faith Is Strong That The Appellate Court Will Do The Right Thing And Therefore We Advise Our Members To Remain Calm. We Will Continue With The Struggle To Take Our Party From The Godfather,” Mr Ifoh Said.
He Also Stated That The Labour Party Is A Party Formed On The Basis Of Social Democracy Where No One Man Is Permitted To Appoint Everybody.
According To Him, It Is Against The Party’s Principles For “One Man To Sit At A Place And Gather Everybody And Appoint Everybody From The National Working Committee To The State.
“That Is Impunity Of The Highest Order. This, I Believe, Negates The Principles Of The Party.
“If We Say There Is No Party Ideology In Nigeria, This Is How It Starts. We Are Very Sure That It Will Be Quashed On Appeal,” He Added.
Mr Ifoh Also Described The Celebration And Excitement Showcased By Senator Nenadi Usman And The Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti As Temporary.
He Said Dr Otti, Senator Usman And Their Cohorts’ Names Which Were Already Listed On INEC’s Portal Will Be Short-Lived.
“It Is For A Short Time. Their Victory Is Pyrrhic And There Is Nothing To Celebrate Because Doomsday Is Closer Than They Will Imagine; Which I Believe Will Be Very Catastrophic For Them.
“Moreover, It Is Very Clear That The Appointment Of The Caretaker Committee Did Not Go Through The Normal Procedure. Proper Notice Was Not Given In Line With The Party Constitution And The Electoral Act,” He Said.
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