Abia: Ogah calls tribunal sacking ‘obvious miscarriage of justice,’ set to appeal

Member representing Isuikwato/Umunneochi Local Government Area in Abia State at the House of Representatives, Hon Amobi Ogah of the Labour Party, has described the ruling of the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Umuahia, which sacked him, as ‘an obvious miscarriage of justice, fairness and objectivity.’

This is also as the lawmaker disclosed plans to appeal the judgement.

It would be recalled that the court had also declared the now Minister of State for Labour and employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, as winner of the representing Isuikwuato Umunneochi federal constituency.

In annulling Ogah’s victory, secured in the February 25 national Assembly elections, the tribunal found two grounds to set sack the Labour Party candidate from office, as being that he did not comply with the Electoral Act provisions.

The tribunal also annulled Ogah’s victory on the grounds that he failed to prove to the court that he won the election from the results declared, tabulated and presented.

The three-member panel of the tribunal had on Wednesday held that there was no date or evidence of parry primaries held electing Ogah as standardbearer.

 “How a candidate is sponsored by a political party is both a pre and post-election matter, there is no evidence of giving 21 days’ notice to INEC by the respondent before conducting their primary election”, the tribunal declared, adding that there was no date of primaries placed before it, neither was there evidence of primaries conducted by the 3rd respondent.

On the results declared by INEC, the tribunal said, “We have tabulated and found out that the results computed by the petitioner are correct and the results computed by the 1st respondent are dis-countenanced.”

However, reacting to the ruling, Thursday, Ogah while rejecting the court’s decision vowed to appeal the judgement.

“I want to state categorically and for the records that I will appeal the judgment by the tribunal as soon as I conclude with my legal team. My opponent, whom I know, did not win the election and the Judge cannot announce a result presented by the petitioner as concrete against the result presented by INEC.

“With the benefit of hindsight, this bizarre outcome is not totally strange as we had seen tendencies of clear compromise by the panel who discarded all known principles governing election adjudication and enunciated their own principles.

“Indeed, manifestation of it was writ large at the adoption of final addresses wherein the current Attorney General of the Federation- Lateef Fagbemi SAN made comments suggesting underhand dealings with the Chairman of the Panel.

“I want to use this medium to call on my constituents who voted for me, knowing my capacity to deliver dividends of democracy to them, to be calm, law and abiding as I appeal the judgment delivered by the tribunal.

“For the records, I scored a total of 11,769 votes against my opponent whom the commission said scored a total of 8,752 votes. It is very bizarre that despite calling a lone witness and dumping several strange result sheets before the tribunal, the members of the panel disregarded the original copies of the result sheets produced from proper custody” Ogah said.

Describing the tribunal’s ruling as an ‘obvious miscarriage of justice, fairness and objectivity,’ Ogah assured that ‘no amount of distraction would make him lose focus on delivering the promises made to his people’

“The will and wish of the people that came out en mass to vote me in is not in doubt, hence my prompting to challenge the judgment. One wonders why a minister already serving after a woeful defeat at the Feb, 25th National Assembly poll could still be making frantic efforts to unseat the popular wish of the people in the electoral victory of the Labour Party and its candidate,” he said.

He added that he was however confident that his opponent’s desperation and mischievous attempt to scuttle the will of the people would be upturned by the justices of the appellate court.