Candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance in the Anambra Central Senatorial rerun, Chief Victor Umeh, has declared he will employ all measures within the ambit of the law to stop a former governor of the state, Mr. Peter Obi, from taking part in the re-run election.
It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had, on Tuesday, March 1, postponed indefinitely, the rerun earlier fixed for Saturday, March 5.
Sources revealed that this was to enable the commission to appeal an Abuja Federal High Court’s judgment that ordered it to allow the Peoples Democratic Party to participate in the rerun.
INEC had earlier stopped the PDP from participating in the rerun following the December 7, 2015 Court of Appeal’s judgment that cancelled the March 28, 2015 election of the PDP’s candidate, Senator Uche Ekwunife, who won the March 28, 2015 National Assembly election in Anambra Central.
The Court of Appeal had, in the verdict, directed a fresh election to hold in the senatorial district within 90 days.
It added, “The 11th respondent (Uche Ekwunife) has been disqualified from participating in the Anambra Central Senatorial District election.”
Speaking to newsmen at the second convocation ceremony of the Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State, where he was conferred with an Honorary Doctoral Degree in Political Science, Umeh said absorbing of new candidates into the race is an illegality.
He added, “I didn’t come into politics to make money. I’m into politics to sanitise the system.
“Obi and his group will not contest this election. We won’t allow this perfidy of theirs.”
But Joe-Martins Uzodike, a lawyer and Obi’s campaigner in the rerun, had said what the Court of Appeal ordered in the December 7 judgment was, “a fresh election.”
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