6th October, 2013
A governorship aspirant in the eastern Nigerian state of Anambra, Dr Chike Obidigbo has vowed to run for the 16 November election in the state, in spite of not being on the ballot.
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission recognises Chief Willie Obiano who belonged to the faction led by Chief Victor Umeh as its recongised candidate for the election. Obidigbo was picked for the race by the faction led by Chief Maxi Okwu,
Obidigbo told newsmen in Awka on Sunday that INEC showed partiality by listing Obiano. He has vowed to pursue his court cases on the issue to the logical conclusion.
Obidigbo said that Obiano’s listing by INEC was not in conformity with the order of the Federal High Court Awka which had asked that the two contending parties be given equal opportunities until the matter before the court was resolved.
He said that the court had in its ruling ordered that the two candidates from the party be accepted by INEC until the substantive issues surrounding the party’s primaries were resolved.
He said that since INEC decided to deny him eligibilty for the election, “my teeming supporters and patriotic citizens of Anambra have been inundating me with calls and enquiries about the way forward.’’
He denied going into alliance with candidates of other political parties for the 16 November election.
“I wish to restate that my choice of APGA platform for political expression and contest of the Anambra governorship seat is irrevocable.
“I wish also to state unequivocally that our case in the court is still on course. We shall not because some individuals decided to use the APGA ticket as their Automatic Teller Machine, leave the party.
“It is because we insist on the survival and success of APGA that we are in court to seek redress. We believe that unless the rule of law operates in every political transaction, Nigeria’s democracy would end in chaos.
“We shall no longer leave the political space to mercantile opportunists and nitwits. I call on Anambra citizens not to despair and urge my supporters to keep hope alive.
“Since the general consensus of opinion of civilized citizens is that the judiciary remains the hope of the common man, we shall insist on obtaining justice from the court. Our legal matters must be pursued diligently to logical conclusion.
“We shall not run away, we shall not hide or shy away from this patriotic responsibility. Anambra must be freed from the narrow-minded leadership that has held it hostage in recent times.
“The people’s right to elect their representatives should not be abridged or corralled by any individual or group. We are all free citizens of one geographical entity called Anambra,’’ he said.
He said that he supported the zoning of the position to the Anambra North.
“Being a pre-election matter, our decision to challenge the composition of the screening panel in view of the explicit provisions of the APGA constitution is to ensure that no one man holds others to ransom,’’ he said.
He said that the legal issue to be determined was who should constitute the appeal panel between the National Chairman of the party and the National Executive Committee.
“These are some of the questions we want the court to answer. We shall abide by whatever answers the court gives to our matter,’’ he said.