- I remain loyal to my party – Anambra gov
Following the triumphant entry of former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Victor Umeh, into the Senate, pressure has reportedly mounted on the Anambra State Governor, Willie Obiano, to gather a team for the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the Anambra-Enugu-Ebonyi axis of the Southeast.
Umeh, widely revered in the three states, was finally admitted into the upper chamber last week after a long-drawn battle in the courts, which hit a crescendo with a by-election that he won on January 13 2018, with a landslide.
Obiano is now being prodded by the President’s 2019 support group to team up with Umeh, all in an attempt to see how they can jointly deliver Anambra, Ebonyi and at least parts of Enugu
A top source at the Presidency informed our correspondent that, “Obiano is now being prodded by the President’s 2019 support group to team up with Umeh, all in an attempt to see how they can jointly deliver Anambra, Ebonyi and at least parts of Enugu.”
The source added that apart from “the little results” expected from Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, another Imo senator, Ben Uwajumogu, had been instructed to be a strong backup in the re-election strategies for states like Imo and Abia, which are very big.”
But when contacted by our correspondent, Special Adviser, Media and Strategy to Governor Obiano, Mr. Chuks Ileogbunam, said, “I have not yet heard of that, as this is the season for rumours; and you know, politicians can come up with so many things.
“The governor is the chairman of the Board of Trustees of APGA and he is a loyal and committed party member.”
UMEH’S TORTUOUS JOURNEY TO SENATE
Umeh, in becoming a senator representing Anambra Central district, has not only concluded his tortuous journey to the Senate, but has with it, boosted his political profile, considering that he was a confidant of the late leader of APGA, the former Biafran leader, Chief Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
Umeh, as the sole dominant candidate of APGA, won the Court of Appeal-ordered re-run election over the Anambra Central senatorial seat conducted on January 13 in seven local government areas of Awka North and South; Idemili North and South; Dunukofia, Njikoka and Anaocha local government areas.
He polled 64,878 votes to emerge winner, having defeated the candidates of PPA, Labour Party, Mega Progressive Peoples Party, Green Party of Nigeria, among 14 less fancied parties that fielded candidates in the contest.
The Court of Appeal had ruled that PDP had no primary election and that was why Uche Ekwunife was disqualified… and I have never lost any case since I started with APGA
His journey to the Senate began in 2015 when he contested for the position on the ticket of APGA and lost, and since then, Umeh had been unrelenting, as he fought doggedly, traversing virtually all the key courts in Nigeria, including the Court of Appeal, which made the mandatory order on the basis of which the January 13 re-run election, which did not feature the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, was conducted.
Signs that Umeh was bent on becoming a senator became glaring sometime in December, 2017 at the Dr Akex Ekwueme Square, Awka, where he was formally presented to the public as the APGA candidate for the re-run election, which a PDP chieftain, Obiora Okonkwo, had tried to abort without succeeding.
Okonkwo, who was a key PDP contender for the Anambra Central Senate seat, had gone to the Federal High Court presided over by Justice John Tsoho and obtained an order for him to be sworn in, an order that was later set aside by the same court for the reason that, there was no full disclosure of all the key facts of the case; hence the contentious judgment was set aside, paving the way for the re-run election, which has now become history.
THE INEC DIMENSION
A seemingly innocuous step taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission, somehow, worked in the favour of Umeh, in his journey through judicial and political trenches, to become a senator. The INEC had gone to the Federal High Court with an application and successfully prayed for an order to set aside the judgement under which Obiora Okonkwo was mandated to be sworn in for the Central Senatorial seat.
And during the subsistence of the Federal High Court judgment which was heavily relied upon by the PDP contender, Umeh was optimistic that the judgment would be quashed; more so, allowing it to stand, he argued, would diminish the doctrine of precedent guiding the courts in Nigeria.
Speaking during the Alex Ekwueme rally, where he was formally presented as the APGA candidate for the re-run election, Umeh had described Obiora’s challenge as a non-issue, adding that Obiora was not a serious contender, and that he would be defeated at the end of the day.
Speaking enthusiastically about his anticipated victory during the January 13 re-run contest, which had since seen to his victory, Umeh said, “The election fixed for January 13 shall hold; the Court of Appeal had ruled that PDP had no primary election and that was why Uche Ekwunife was disqualified. So, there is no cause for worry; we are on top of the situation and I have never lost any case since I started with APGA.”
And as expected, Umeh has since clinched victory in the re-run contest and so far, Okonkwo, it was gathered, has reacted to the new reality of the fact that Umeh is now a senator by renewing his bid for the elusive post with a notice of appeal, wherein he was allegedly praying the appellate court to declare the outcome of the Anambra Central re-run election null and void and affirm him as the one to occupy the Anambra Central senate seat.
And as Umeh becomes a senator, human rights activist, Comrade Ifeanyi Odili, who is the General Secreatry of Campaign for Democracy, has said, “It is important to take him back to his promise, to give the Central Senatorial zone an effective and purposeful representation, notwithstanding the alleged moves by his opponents to weaken his position and render his tenure
ineffectual.”
