From Chuks Collins, Awka 

The legal assault on Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) and Chief Victor Umeh at the instance of our own Senator Uche Ekwunife using the interrogation of Umeh’s eligibility to fly the flag of LP in the coming weekend’s Senatorial election may have exposed an orchestrated attack on Peter Obi’s Presidential aspiration.

While many could not see beyond the facade of tussle for the Anambra Central Senatorial seat, others simply see it as a targeted onslaught on Obi’s unrelenting towering stature in the coming Presidential election. The nation’s politics hall of fame has already dutifully recorded his unprecedented national acceptance, popularity and message to the nation and world as historical.

So, as the final seven days countdown kicks off, fears have risen to a high pitch level especially within other contending political camps, who wished things were completely different, especially the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC); on the likelihood of Obi sweeping the stakes.

The Anambra Central senatorial District appear worst hit, where three long time rivals -Senators Uche Ekwunife, Victor Umeh and Hon Dozie Nwankwo are locking horns for the senate seat. But curiously Ekwunife, for reasons best known to her attempts to shoot Obi, Umeh and LP down using the law courts as springboard. Whereas it’s perhaps a well calculated scheme on Obi and his party, the Obidatti International Movement, as well as the popular Peter Obi Support Network (POSN) and the body of Christ in the state.

The dangerous scheme, according to our sources was being undertaken by some elements in the PDP in conjunction with other stomach infrastructure-driven political elements nationwide who were said to be dangling Senate president seat as a bait.

The plot, we further learnt was said to have been designed to unfold in stages and had commenced long time ago. Its first stage was reportedly successful with the name calling of Obi as a “kindergarten president” It was closely followed by the multiple attempts to downplay/discourage his moves/messages of hope, saying he has no structure and that his supporters were merely on social media alone and none on ground.

Another stage was ignited to key into the previous one by describing his mammoth enthusiastic crowd that greeted the nationwide Obidatti Movement rallies as “rented”.

But when the lies persistently failed to make any impact, the already exasperated antagonists tried violent assault on the self motivated surging crowds,-to see if they would retaliate for them to seize the opportunity to unleash mayhem on the young Obidients who were cheering Obi as their guide compass to recover Nigeria, their common destiny and freedom from the mindless-structured traducers.

This was while some of the antagonists at the corridors of power including Governors Ahmed El-rufai of Kaduna State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State/Presidential running mate of the PDP, as as well as Gov SanwOlu of Lagos State refused any indoor, outdoor advert placement of Obidatti Presidential campaign, rallies and gathering in any part of their States.

But who can fight a vision whose time has come, or God’s anointed? Certainly nobody!

Yet another stage was to use Chief Umeh, the LP’s Anambra Central Senatorial candidate to try to subtly attack Obi and the Obidatti Movement.

Pronto, Umeh was disqualified vide a Federal High Court verdict on Jan 27,2023. And he quickly went on appeal.  Already, the Appeal panel drawn from Enugu Division has sat, taken oral and written arguments and final addresses. The judgement was now deferred for a day to be announced soon.

And should he fail, then it would simply become a straight fight between his main traducer, Ekwunife and another political hardhitter, Hon Dozie Nwankwo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the ruling party in the State.

Until the present court verdict, Umeh was one of the top contenders to the coveted Anambra Central Senatorial seat in the fast approaching February 25 general election. He was facing a battery of lawsuits over his candidature, due to the way and manner of his emergence.

While a member of his LP, Chief Solomon Onyekwelu, a senatorial aspirant who claimed he was not given opportunity to prove his popularity in the primary, was dragging him from within the party, Ekwunife, was fighting him from outside.

Ekwunife is seeking an unprecedented third term reelection into the Red Chamber which only very few had attained nationwide. This was in addition to having spent two terms in the Green Chambers earlier. Little wonder many wanted her to willingly step aside to allow a new more active person take over, to avoid monotony, lethargy and rustiness that they claimed have visibly set in already; with the repetition of words and acts, lacking new ideas, creativity and initiatives. Many believe it would be sad for her to be pushed out through election defeat.

But in all these, the APGA candidate, Nwankwo who was described as being on ground with citizens of the area, and burning with desire to impress the constituents is standing by and ready to step in.

The trio have been at it together before now and tested and known each other’s political strength, antics and tactics.

There was also Chief Kodilichukwu Okelekwe of the All Progressives Congress(APC). However it was a bit difficult to decipher why he joined the race.

Because as an experienced political tactician, it was glaring that he has other motives other than victory, that brought him into the race. Surprisingly he surrounded himself with the wrong set of helpers and aides. And apart from the recent NUJ media debate, no one really believed he was contesting.

According to details of the verdict in the suit No FHC/AWK/CS/155/2022 which came vide originating summons brought by the People’s Democratic Party and Senator Uche Ekwunife, as plaintiffs on Sept 30,2022, represented by B.E.I.Nwofor (SAN), leading other lawyers against the LP, Umeh and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), represented by Alex Ejesieme (SAN), and other lawyers for LP; P.I.N. Ikwueto (SAN), and others, for Umeh, while E.E. Udeh represented INEC as the defendants, Umeh was accused of being a registered member of APGA, and not a member of LP as at the time of picking the senatorial ticket. That he contested for primary in APGA held on 28 May, 2022 before carpet- crossing to LP perhaps without tidying up his documentations.

That he apparently moved over a little bit too quickly to pick the LP ticket even while his name was still sitting pretty at the top of his Aguluzoigbo Ward of APGA membership register. That by inference he was not a member of LP as at the day he claimed to have won and secured the senatorial ticket.

So, Hon Justice Nganjiwa on Jan 27 in his judgement declared that the INEC acted in breach of the provisions of Sec 29(1), 82(5) and 84(13)of the Electoral Act 2022, by publishing a statement on 20/9/22 at its offices at Awka which included the name of the second defendant (Umeh)as a candidate standing nominated by the 1st defendant to contest senatorial election for the Anambra Central Senatorial District scheduled to hold on Feb 25,2023. Also that the LP having failed to comply with the provisions of Sections 29(1), 77(3), 82(1)(2)(4)(b)(c), 5(c)(I)(ii), 8(9)(11) of the Electoral Act Article 27 paragraph 5 of LP Constitution and its Guidelines for primary election.

An order of injunction was also made restraining LP and Umeh from parading or campaigning as a candidate whatsoever for the Feb 25,2023 Anambra Central senatorial election. INEC was also restrained from accepting or recognizing, treating Umeh as a nominated candidate of LP for the purpose of contesting the Anambra Central senatorial election on Feb 25,2023 and from including his names, logo and emblem of LP and Umeh on the ballot paper for the said election.

In the second suit ref FHC/AWK/CS/156/2022 brought against Umeh by Onyekwelu, LP and INEC, it was ruled in the judgement by Justice Nganjiwa dismissed on the ground that it lacked locus since there was nothing to hold on, as Umeh has been found to be an interloper who got a ticket without being member of the party.

In reaction, the plaintiff expressed intentions to sue LP and Umeh for recovery of his Expression of Interest/Nomination fees and other exemplary damages since he was never allowed to participate in any primary.

Sadly, political pundits while acknowledging the beauty of the addition of knowledge through the suit to the nation’s jurisprudence, it hurts that the presidential candidate of the LP, HE Peter Obi may actually be the original target of the whole matter.

Therefore leaves sour taste in the mouth that Ekwunife was the main litigant in the suit against Obi’s LP considering the close affinity between them before now. More so, she has spent about two decades at the National Assembly and clearly stands a good chance of clinching a plum position under an Obi presidency. It was also touted she was eyeing the Senate top job, should she return to the red Chambers of the National Assembly. Consequently she would fight with everything at her disposal to ensure a win.

Rev Fr Isidore Okoye who spoke to journalists in Awka yesterday demanded to know which school of lawmaking Ekwunife went to gather experience when she made her first entry into politics and NASS for her to describe Obi as kindergarten.

This brand of politics hurts, really hurts!