Abia State elders and traditional rulers have described the issuance of
\nCertificate of Return to Mr. Uche Ogah by the Independent National
\nElectoral Commission (INEC) on the order of Justice Okon Abang of the
\nFederal High Court Abuja, as perverse and reckless.
\nA statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Enyinnaya
\nAppolos, obtained by journalists on Tuesday in Abuja said, the elders who
\ndeclared their full support for Ikpeazu, appealed to Abians and every
\ninterest group in the tussle for leadership of the state, to remain calm,
\nfor the good of the state.<\/p>\n
Addressing journalists after a meeting in Abuja, Chief Onyema Ugochukwu,
\nwho read the communique of a meeting they held at Asokoro home of Prince
\nVincent Ogbulafo in Abuja, commended Attorney of the Federation and
\nMinister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), for his quick and timely
\nintervention which the elders said, has helped to reduce tension in the
\nstate.
\n\u201cWe, the concerned elders of Abia state, worried by the developments in
\nthe last five days which threatened to plunge our state into anarchy,
\nviolence and bloodshed, met today in Abuja to review the situation\u201d
\nThe elders, he said, \u201creviewed the judgement of Justice Okon Abang, which
\nis the beginning of the unfortunate crisis and INEC\u2019s decision to issue a
\ncertificate of return to our son Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah, which decision
\nexacerbated the crisis.
\n\u201cWe came to the conclusion, unanimously, that Justice Abang\u2019s order to
\nissue a certificate of return to someone who never contested the
\ngovernorship election against the Electoral Act and well known decisions
\nof superior courts was perverse and reckless and we condemn it in its
\nentirety.\u201d
\n\u201cWe have also noted the unseeming haste of INEC to issue the certificate
\njust a few hours after the Justice Abang order, and in spite of the fact
\nthat INEC had been duly served with a notice of appeal of the said order
\nand the motion for a stay of execution.
\n\u201cWe are worried by the impression created of a conspiracy involving INEC
\nto throw Abia into confusion and anarchy.
\n\u201cWe condemn in very strong terms the attempt to set Abia on fire and
\ncreate a situation which can only compound the problems which our country
\nis currently having to bring an end to violence in the North East and
\nNiger Delta.
\n\u201cWe have also noted with appreciation the intervention of the Attorney
\nGeneral of the Federation, Malami, who has urged all parties to follow the
\nrule of law and wait the conclusion of proceedings in the appellate
\ncourts. We join in this appeal for peace and urge all parties involved in
\nthis matter to calm down and await the conclusion of matters at the
\ncourts.\u201d
\n\u201cWe also commend our people, the people of Abia who have remained peaceful
\nin the face of recent provocations. We urge them to remain calm and
\nmaintain the peace as we wait the courts to conclude their processes\u201d,
\nthey said.
\nThe elders, made up of who is who in Abia politics, stated that they have
\n\u201cfaith in the Nigerian judiciary and believe that in the end Justice will
\nbe done.\u201d
\nThey also used the opportunity to commiserate with families of notable
\nAbia citizens who lost their lives recently, among who is Chief Ojo
\nMaduekwe, who died recently.
\n\u201cWe also discussed our recent bereavement as a people, especially the
\ndemise of Ambassador Ojo Maduekwe, just as our state was being thrown into
\nconfusion as well as the earlier death of Senator Onyeka Okoroafor.
\n\u201cWe offer our sincere condolence to their respective families and pray
\nthat Almighty God will comfort and strengthen them and the whole Abia
\nState.\u201d
\nThe meeting was attended by notable Abia elders and traditional rulers
\namong who are all the current serving Abia Senators including Former
\nGovernor Theodore Orji, (Abia Central,) Mao Ohuabunwa, (Abia North,) Enyi
\nAbaribe, (Abia South).
\nOthers are Senator Adolfus Wabara, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, Empire Kanu,
\nChef Onyema Ugochukwu, HRH, Eze Ngozi Marthias Nwoko, Professor S.O. Igwe,
\nUzoma Nkem Abonta, and Professor Herbert O. Orji.
\nOther Royal father\u2019s present at the meeting include, HRH Eze J O Akaliro,
\nHRH Eze Dr. Eberechi Dick and HRH Eze P M Okponku, amongst other
\npersonalities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Abia State elders and traditional rulers have described the issuance of Certificate of Return to Mr. Uche Ogah by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the order of Justice…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n