Since the conduct of the re-scheduled National Assembly polls in April 2011, the good people of Anambra North Senatorial zone have not been represented in the upper legislative chamber partly because of the series of legal challenges mounted by different politicians and most disturbingly, the confusing role played so far by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headed by Professor Attahiru Jega.
I have received several calls from the ordinary but decent people from that part of Anambra who have persistently sought to know whether it is not a total breach of their fundamental human rights as enshrined in chapter Four of the constitution as amended that the electoral body has unwittingly allowed itself to play partisan role by failing to do the needful by completing its constitutional duty by issuing the certificate of return to the winner of that election as declared by the electoral body.
One of my many callers who personally mailed me certain relevant document questioned the independence and impartiality of the Independent National Electoral Commission.
One of such document is the form EC 8E endorsed by Professor Clement C. Ezechukwu, the returning officer for the Anambra North Senatorial District which showed that Chief John Okechukwu Emeka of the Peoples Democratic Party won the National Assembly election in April 2011 to represent Anambra North Senatorial Zone. The electoral body even proceeded to write an official invitation letter to Chief John Okechukwu Emeka asking him to present himself before the electoral officials for the purposes of collecting his certificate of return which would have necessitated his swearing in to represent the people of Anambra North in the Senate of the Federal Republic.
In the letter of invitation sent to Chief Emeka, who was a former federal minister under the President Obasanjo’s administration in charge of the transportation sector, the INEC stated thus:
“It is my warmest pleasure to invite you to the formal presentation of Certificate of Return at Election to you in view of having been elected as Senator representing Anambra North Senatorial District at the Senate, National Assembly. The event will hold on Tuesday 10th May, 2011 by 2.30pm. The venue is the INEC office at Awka, Anambra State. You are required to come along with two (2) guests at the ceremony.
Please find attached two (2) letters of invitation for your guests. Also, note that each guest will present the formal letter of invitation from the State Commission, without which he or she would not be allowed into the venue.”
The letter of invitation dated May 9th 2011, was signed by the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Anambra State, Professor C. E. Onukaogu.
You may want to know why I earlier postulated that the Independent National Electoral Commission has played less than an honest and professional role in the Anambra North political debacle. As soon as the electoral commission issued the letter of invitation for the issuance of certificate of return to be presented to the INEC – presumed winner Chief Emeka, one of the several claimants, Senator Alphonsus Igbeke proceeded to a Federal High Court, Abuja division to file a motion ex parte dated May 10, 2011 to apply for an order of mandamus in line with the reliefs he set out in the statement in support of his application and that the granting of leave should operate as a stay of all actions and matters concerning the issuing of the certificate of return to chief Emeka. But the plaintiff never named Chief Emeka as a party in the suit.
Those named as respondents included the electoral body; Professor Jega, and the director of Legal Services in the electoral commission. This matter was hurriedly granted by Justice Abdu-Kafarati who has become controversial for single-handedly issuing a lot of court orders in the aftermath of the April election to the consternation of many legal analysts in the country.
Now this is the drama that INEC played in the Anambra North political matter. It failed to issue certificate of return to the person it had invited for that purpose, but instead issued a certificate of return purportedly dated 14th April 2011 to Alphonsus Igbeke who obtained an exparte order on May 9th 2011.
Could it be that some persons in INEC had prepared this certificate of return for the eventual recipient ahead of the award of the exparte order by the Federal High Court Abuja several days after?
Igbeke was recently charged to court by the office of the Federal Attorney General for allegedly forging the result of the April 2011 poll.
The dramatic scenario in Anambra North has further ensured that the so-called integrity of the officials of the electoral body has nose-dived for the worse and only a clear redress of this unfortunate turn of event can attempt to restore the lost image of INEC.
I think INEC should clean up this augean stable the same way it did when the controversy that surrounded the election in another Anambra senatorial zone between the eventual winner Dr. Chris Ngige and his rival Professor Dora Akunyili.
Only recently, the former minister of Transport and the presumed winner of the Anambra North Senatorial election Chief John Okechukwu Emeka had written a letter to the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Professor Attahiru Jega demanding that he be issued with his certificate of return to enable him resume duty for his constituents.
He wrote thus: “I was the only P.D.P candidate for Anamra North Senatorial district that filled and submitted your forms C.F.001 and E.C.4B. My name was published in the INEC list of candidates for the election and I contested and won the Senatorial election. I was issued form EC8E (Declaration of results) as the winner duly elected in the election by the Returning Officer of the Senatorial District. Prof. C.C. Ezechukwu. Your Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner invited me for presentation of Certificate of Return which was not given to me.”
Prince Emeka further told INEC: “On inquiry from your Abuja office, I was told that Senator Igbeke obtained a court order dated 6th May, 2011 mandating your office to issue the Certificate of Return to him. It is clear to INEC that the documents presented to the court by Senator Igbeke were forgeries as your staff A.A. Umar Esq has denied issuing them to him.
Presently, it is on account of this that Senator Igbeke is being prosecuted for forgery by the federal government.”
Emeka wrote further; I was the only person, who ought to have been issued a Certificate of Return as at 14th April, 2011. Sir you were wrongly advised to act on the contrary which makes it look like you did so in ‘anticipation’ of the court order of 6th May. April 14th is 23 clear days before May 6th.”
Emmanuel Onwubiko heads the Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria and can be reached on doziebiko@yahoo.com.