Indeed, the foregoing scenario of the nature of lopsidedness in political propaganda is quite prevalent in the current Abia State Governorship legal tussle between Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu and Dr. Uche Ogah, both of the PDP. Since the June 27, 2016 judgment of the Abuja High Court nullifying the election of Governor Ikpeazu and ordering INEC to declare Ogah as the authentic Governor of Abia State, propaganda has gone haywire and lent itself to many unwieldy voices of varying sentiments and prejudices.
Suddenly, beyond the strident voices of defendants in the legal case, every interested Nigerian seems to have an opinion. Abia State has been fortuitously thrust into the limelight of national discussions. The national primetime TV stations, newspapers and online news media have become awash with interviews, opinions and analyses on who is right and who is not in the Abia ‘crisis’. Some have questioned the judgment of Justice Okon Abang on the case.
Some opined that INEC is wrong to have ‘rushed’ to issue Certificate of Return to Ogah when Ikpeazu has filed an appeal against the Abuja High Court judgment. Lawyers of different shades too joined the fray. Indeed, there are many expressions of blatant ignorance about the issue being talked about.
But in the whole din of typically riotous Nigerian political propaganda, the most unsettling of all public discussions on the Abia situation so far is the wrong notion that Ogah is desperate and taking an illegal back door to become governor. Nothing could be further from the truth! That insinuation that Ogah’s victory is a hurriedly executed legal ambush for the acquisition of political power is nothing but a brazen propagandist concoction of falsehood brewed by Ogah’s opposing camp to discredit him in the court of public opinion. It is simply a diversionary tactic by unscrupulous rabble rousers meant to mislead Abia State citizens and other stakeholders.
For the purpose of disabusing innocent people’s minds and setting the records straight, it is pertinent here to assert that Ogah’s case was a pre-2015 election issue and is strongly anchored on facts, but the refusal of Ikpeazu to respond to the core issues and his resort to propaganda speaks volumes about how political desperation could twist facts to suit mischievous agenda.
By the way, at a recent briefing in Lagos through his counsel Mr Monday Ubani, Ogah confirmed that his case predated Ikpeazu’s swearing-in as governor and the case had even long ago reached the Supreme Court before returning to the lower court.
The real crux of the whole case is that Ikpeazu was not actually eligible to participate in the 2014 PDP primaries on the basis that he failed to pay his taxes as and when due as required by the 1999 Constitution. PDP’s Guidelines and the Electoral Act of 2010. So, on the face of it, Ikpeazu’s tax clearance was indeed questionable.
The Tax Clearance form (Code PD002/G), dated November 4, 2014, and sworn to at the High Court Registry, Aba, shows that Ikpeazu’s tax receipt number for December 2011 is 0012849; that of December 2012 is 0012846 and that of December 2013 is 0012847 and 0012848.
Now the question is: going by the foregoing, did Ikpeazu use one booklet to pay tax for three years? Is he the only one paying tax? How come the tax number which ends in 49 came first rather than last?
By the way, Ogah went to court soon after the 2014 primaries because the PDP’s appeal panel failed to respond to his complaints about Ikpeazu’s alleged non-qualification.When Ogah filed the suit in 2014, Ikpeazu challenged the court’s jurisdiction.
The appeal process got to the Court of Appeal until it was decided by the Supreme Court which ruled that the Federal High Court had jurisdiction to hear the case.
The first judge handling the case, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, withdrew from the case on the basis that he was accused of bias and returned the file to the Chief Judge. The matter was then re-assigned to Justice Okon Abang who delivered the June 27, 2016 judgment that gave victory to Ogah.
So, from the above explanations, it can be clearly seen that Dr. Uche Ogah is not taking any hasty legal ambush or illegal back door to become governor as being falsely assumed or propagated by some propagandists. Neither is Ogah also a desperado as wrongly alleged by his opponents. In fact, despite the pressure mounted on him to dump the PDP for another party in his quest for justice, Ogah has vehemently refused.
Up till today, Ogah maintains that he will stay in the PDP because he has a divine mandate to actualize his vision for Abia State through the PDP. Again, the confirmation here of Ogah’s refusal to defect from the PDP has put a lie to insidious insinuations that Ogah is being backed by Nigeria’s ruling party APC to take over Abia State. What a big lie!
*Onwumere is a public affairs analyst and media consultant
From Sunonline
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