As protests continue to trail the October 3 controversial senatorial primary elections of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu West senatorial district, Osita Okechukwu, the Director General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) has asked Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku Nwagwu to stop dropping the name of Reverend Fr. Ejike Mbaka in a bid to justify a stolen mandate.
Ibekaku, who was declared winner, had said in a media report that Mbaka, the Founder of renowned Adoration Ministries Enugu, prayed for her victory against Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the forthcoming senatorial election in Enugu West.
But in statement on Monday, Okechukwu said he has great respect for Fr Mbaka and do not think that the Mbaka he knows “would pray for the stolen mandate, which Juliet Ibekaku was bandying about.”
According to the VON DG, Ibekaku-Nwagwu did not earn the results allocated to her in the primaries in a desperate bid to declare her as the winner of the Enugu West senatorial primary election.
Consequently, Okechukwu, an aspirant for the primaries, said he has protested to the Appeal Panel in Abuja over the alleged allocation of unearned votes to Mrs. Ibekaku Nwagwu in the primaries.
The VON DG said he was following the due process of filing petition accordingly to the Appeal Panel, in a bid to recover his mandate from Mrs. Ibekaku.
In a petition to the Appeal Panel for Enugu West sitting in Abuja, Okechukwu submitted that the allocation of the results was not only brazen, utter imposition of candidate and without tact, but clearly demonstrated the complicity of the Primary Election Panel led by Professor Moses Momoh.
In the petition titled, “Protest over allocation of votes to Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku Nwagwu in Enugu West Senatorial District Primary Election,” Okechukwu stated that the votes were wrongfully allocated interalia: Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku Nwagwu – 5,750, Gbazuagu Nweke Gbazuagu – 4,015, Osita Okechukwu – 2, 344 and Pius Eze – 600, thus making a total of 12, 709 votes.
Part of the petition read, “The allocation of the results were not only brazen, utter imposition of candidate and without tact, but clearly demonstrated the complicity of the Primary Election Panel led by Professor Moses Momoh, for I polled a total of 7,919 votes in Awgu one of the five local government areas of the senatorial district. Evidence attached as Annex 1. Annex 11 is also attached. It is my candid view that the signatures be subjected to Forensic Test, if in doubt, to clear the air.
“I humbly further submit that the results from the 81 Wards were in my favour, as I led other three contestants with over 15,000 votes, Chief Gbazuagu Nweke Gbazuagu coming second and Mrs Juliet Ibekaku Nwagwu distant third. Am ready to furnish more more evidences, if requested.
“Your Excellency, to proof that their allocations were tactless and lacked common sense is that the two Federal House of Representatives candidates – Chef Joe Mammel, polled over 9,000 votes from Udi/Ezeagu and Mr VinMartin Ilo, polled over 9,000 votes from Aniri/Awgu/Oji River, while the four senatorial aspirants were merely allocated 12,709 in the same district.
“My fear, as one of the foundation members of the APC, is that in the general election, Mrs. Nwagwu lacks the gravitas to win Senator Ekweremadu. For earlier before the primary election news filtered in that Senator Ike Ekweremadu, the incumbent, has vowed that he will make sure that Mr. Osita Okechukwu is stopped from making the list. His reason is that he needs a weaker APC candidate, who will not enjoy the massive support I have among ordinary party members and the general public. This played out when a large segment of the senator’s supporters jubilated over her alleged victory,” Okechukwu stated.
He, therefore, appealed to members of the Appeal Panel to use their good offices in the interest of their great party and dear president, to rectify the unwarranted imposition of divisive Mrs. Nwagwu and validate his election as the candidate of APC, to avoid dissension and discontent among the rank and file of party members.
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