Who is Congratulating Iwu?

By

Joachim Ibeziako Ezeji

santajayinc@yahoo.com

 

 

It was amusing reading through a congratulatory message posted in a national newspaper. The message was done by a group that identified itself as Umukabia community. The Umukabia community that posted that message is in Isiala Mbano local government area of Imo state. From the style and wordings of the message it was clear that those behind it were Prof. Iwu’s kinsmen.

 

I do not intend to cast aspersions to the Umukabia people and their ‘well beloved son’ but I doubt what the average Umukabia man has got to gain with such unabashed public ridicule. I know that all well meaning Umukabia people will be disappointed with their son’s poor performance in public office. No doubt, even more infuriated with the pretence of posturing them as solidarity to a son that failed. As the Igbo proverb will say “Onye onye ya na agba ajo egwu, oko nku anya na ako ya’’. Those who placed such flamboyant message should have a rethink.

 

I do not begrudge a group of kinsmen from felicitating with their son. But such should be in consonance with general applause. Otherwise shows mischief and belittles the people.  It rather stirred the inquest to really know how Prof Maurice Iwu feels these days. I would like to know if he is innately happy or otherwise with the way and manner that he conducted the April 2007 elections.

 

Having bungled the 2007 elections and aborting the freewill of the Nigerian people, one would have expected Iwu to show immense remorse, resign and profusely apologize to Nigerians. Instead of doing just that what we see is paid advertorials from both veiled and proxy groups congratulating Prof Iwu for his dis-service to Nigerians. I don’t believe that message came from true sons of Umukabia. They should be courageous enough to disclaim that message. What is expected from Umukabia community instead is to recall and scold their son for bringing shame and opprobrium to the Igbo race in general.

 

I am glad that Rtd. Gen Buhari and his party the All Nigerian Peoples Party have requested the president to sack Iwu with ignominy as a condition for the party to mellow down and allow the fraudulent polls to stand. I doubt if Alhaji  Musa Yar Adua will be willing to do this. However, one thing is sure, and that is that a new INEC must have Iwu as the number one casualty.

 

Beyond the posturing and pretences of solidarity to Iwu, Nigerians are watching with awe the on-going drama in the election tribunals. It behooves Iwu and his INEC to bare their wares for inspection. The tribunals across the land have ordered INEC to allow aggrieved parties inspect the materials and documents used in the April polls.

 

I am happy with the new turn of events in Anambra. In delivering its judgement on Obi’s case the supreme court had  berated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for going ahead with the conduct of election into the office of the Governor of the state when the case was still pending before a court of law. The court, in a unanimous decision in which all the seven justices on the panel including George Oguntade, O. Aderemi, Tanko, Dahiru Musdapher put the litigants on the edge of the seats throughout the hearing, said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) took a "serious risk" and gamble when, despite the fact that the case was before the court, conducted the governorship election in Anambra State.
Justice Alu said that arbitrariness must be dealt a "death knell" in the nation's body politic, emphasising that the path of constitutionalism remained the only option for entrenching democratic ideals.
Before dealing with the substantive issue in the appeal, the court invoked Section 22 of its rules. It ruled that since all relevant materials were before it, there was no point to remit the case to the lower court as applied by counsel to the respondents.
Justice Alu said that by the appellant's suit before the court, the office of the governor of Anambra state was not vacant as Obi had challenged the sudden attempt to cut short his tenure. The facts of the case, he said, were not in dispute and that nothing stopped the electoral body from seeking constitutional interpretation before rushing to conduct the election to fill the non-vacant seat.

 

The court held that the action of INEC was defiant and daring and capable of sending a wrong signal that once an action was done, it could not be reversed. Justice Alu ordered that the office of the governor of Anambra state was not vacant as at the time INEC conducted the election, adding that as a commission set up by the constitution, INEC would have followed the spirit and letters of the same constitution to guide its actions.

 

That INEC utterly refused to walk the constitutional path, he said,  made the issue of when Obi took oath of allegiance and oath of office  the more relevant. "I hereby in the circumstance order that Andy Uba should vacate the  office immediately and the appellant runs his full term which ends on the 17th of March 2010 having taken the oath on the 17 of March, 2006," Justice Alu said.

 

Justice Oguntade came hard on INEC by describing the conduct of the election as a "subversion of constitution", which should not stand because the world is watching closely how the country is operating its democracy.

 

Justice Katsina Alu said the Supreme Court or any other court has a duty to protect the constitution as doing otherwise would spell doom for the country and the nation’s democracy.

 

It could be remembered that it was the same Prof. Iwu acting like an emperor that had barred Obi and other contestants from contesting the April elections despite numerous pleas by well meaning Nigerians.Prof.Iwu also turned deaf ears to the fact that the case was already in the law court. This judgment further unveils the foul dispositions of INEC as led by Iwu. Now whose integrity is in the mud? Who knows, the coming days may be quite interesting.

 

Before that judgement came the scenario in Owerri, Awka and Benin were any thing but salutary.

 

Instead of allowing smooth and unhindered inspection of these materials Iwu’s INEC is throwing obstacles.In Awka former Governor Chris Ngige of the Action Congress (AC), former Governor Virgy Etiaba, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and African Political System (APS), Dr.Alex Obiogbolu, all candidates in the last governorship election in Anambra State and their legal team all waited for more than four hours last Monday at the Awka INEC office all in vain for the required polls documents.

 

They had converged at the INEC office in obeisance to the order of the election petitions tribunal, which ruled that the April 14 documents be provided to the candidates for inspection. Many of the candidates came with their generating sets, photocopiers and lawyers etc, to inspect, photocopy and certify the documents but could no do so because INEC could not comply. But instead of doing just that INEC opted to hide and seek game with the candidates. 

The same scenario played itself out in Owerri. Despite an order of Imo State Election Petition Tribunal in Owerri, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to allow the petitioners, Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and Chief Martin Agbaso to inspect documents used in the April governorship election, the Commission refused the duo from gaining entry into its premises.
In the case of Araraume, the tribunal gave INEC seven days within which to make available the materials for inspection and possibly make copies of the certified documents at the payment of the appropriate fees, but the period expired last two week Thursday, and the Commission did not comply with the tribunal directives.
Speaking to a national newspaper on the telephone, Director of Media and Publicity of the Senator Araraume Campaign Organisation, Dr James Okoroma, decried what he called flagrant abuse of the court order by INEC, and urged INEC to respect the courts, because it remained the final arbiter of the common man.
Okoroma said INEC could only reply to the order on the last day of its expiration, even though it received the directives early enough.

 He said INEC denied experts sent by Araraume on his behalf entry into INEC's premises on the basis that the materials were not readily available for inspection. On their next line of action, Okoroma said they are going back to the tribunal to report INEC and wait for the tribunal’s next direction on the matter.

 

In the case of Agbaso of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the tribunal granted him leave to either by himself or his agents, servants or privies to inspect and examine all the documents, records, materials and other polling documents, especially from EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, voters register, ad hoc staff list and other documents in the custody of INEC used in the conduct of the governorship election held on  April 14, 2007.

Both Chief Ifeanyi Ararume and Chief Martin Agbaso and their team are being frustrated. How costly it is to get justice in Nigeria?

 

An order in Benin to allow Comrade Oshiomole and his team to inspect similar documents in Edo state was greeted with applause by those present but remains to be observed how INEC will comply with such an order. It has already taken three weeks each in both Awka and Owerri since the court order was given yet nothing has happened.

 

Already the presidential election tribunal will on June 21 rule on whether to entertain a suit instituted by the Presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), General Muhammadu Buhari seeking to commit to prison the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Maurice Iwu over his refusal to allow Buhari's lawyers access to electoral materials as ordered by the court. The court will on June 21 determine if the committal charge is competent or not.  The Commission allegedly denied Buhari access to the election materials as requested by him inspite of a court order that he be allowed to peruse them leading
to the filling of the committal application. Those documents ordered to be released for inspection include (a)Form EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D used in the Presidential Election held on the 21st April 2007; (b)Copy of Form EC8E (c)Copies of the Form EC25
(Electoral Material Receipt) and EC 40C (Ballot Paper Account and Verification Statements) used to dispatch.
 The rest include Ballot Papers and Election Results in each of the 36 states and their respective constituencies, local governments, area wards and polling units; list of Ad-hoc staff engaged in the conduct of the election in each of the 36 states and their constituent’s local government areas, wards and polling units (save Lagos and Abuja All copies of voters registers used in all the 36 states of the Federation used at the polling stations for the 2007 Presidential Elections are also to be released to the two candidates for inspection.   Buhari is challenging the outcome of the presidential election which INEC declared the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] candidate, Alhaji Umaru Yar’ Adua as the winner.

 

It could be remembered that it was this same INEC singing like parrot that had boasted that it was going to support and assist all aggrieved candidates with requisite documents at the tribunal. The clay foot in doing just that long after the conclusion of the so called elections and even after an order from the court was obtained further exposes the fact that there were no elections but writing and fudging of results.

 

I was thinking that Prof. Maurice Iwu would use the tribunals to put his detractors and pundits to shame. I am still expecting Iwu to reclaim his integrity and those of the Igbo race especially the Igbo people of Umukabia. For now all that INEC could offer is an extra salt to the injury.

 

I take serious exception to the charade called goodwill message by a select few who have questionable integrity and livelihood. The people of Umukabia and any other group whatsoever should rather dissociate itself from the fraud that was visited on the nation by INEC as piloted by their son.

 

Why not the Nigerian Society of pharmacist or the Nigerian Medical Association; why not the Nigerian Union of Teachers or the Nigerian Bar Association come forward and congratulate Iwu and his INEC? What cheap political points does Iwu want to achieve. Perhaps he will file those fake congratulatory advertorials and forward them to his friends in the United States as an alibi that some Nigerians still accepted his ‘failure’.

 

Where was Iwu when the international observers scored his performance abysmal? A congratulatory message such as those from Umukabia is not only macabre and absurd but shameful. It diminishes the people of that little community in the eyes of fair minded but aggrieved Nigerians. It is a show of shame and should be discouraged.

 

For now lets leave Prof. Maurice Iwu alone to carry his cross!