Again, Frank Ibezim has lost his legal battle over the APC candidature for the Okigwe Senatorial election slated for December 5, 2020.
Embattled Ibezim who was declared the winner of the APC Primaries was a few weeks ago, removed by the Federal High Court and in his stead, Ararume was put.
The Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital has refused to grant stay of execution against Senator Ifeanyi Ararume.
The Court on Friday 6th November 2020 ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to substitute the name of Sir Frank Ibezim with the name of Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for Imo North Senatorial by election.
On the 10th November 2020, INEC, which is the 2nd defendant in the matter complied with the court order and subsequently published the name of Senator Ararume alongside other candidates. Sir Frank Ibezim who was not a party to the suit from the trial stage and the plaintiff Lady Uche Onyewu Ubah approached the same court for a stay of execution and leave of court to appeal the judgment. After reading the submissions of the learned counsels in the suit, the presiding Judge, Justice Ringim Garba dismissed the application for Stay of execution.
The Judge in his wisdom granted the Intervener applicant the leave of court to appeal while dismissing the stay of execution. At press time, one of the counsels to Senator Ifeanyi Ararume Barr. U. M. Isaac said with the judgment his client could go ahead with his campaign since the name had already been listed as the candidate of the party. In the same vein, the counsel to Lady. Chidinma Uwajumogu who is the 4th defendant in the matter, Barr. U. W. Olajide noted that it was their(applicants) constitutional right to appeal an unfavorable judgment but for him to seek for the removal of Senator Ifeanyi Ararume and replace with his own is not provided in law. Having not participated in the trial stage, he should first seek the leave of court to be joined in the appeal in order to seek his prayers.
Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, yesterday, said he had no personal dispute with his predecessor, Senator Rochas Okorocha.
The clash
between the supporters of the governor and his predecessor resulted into to the
death of two persons on Sunday over the sealing of Royal Spring Palm Estate
Hotel, Akachi, by the state government.
The All
Progressive Congress (APC) in the state is tangled in a crisis following
the political differences and feud between Okorocha and Uzodinma.
Speaking
after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House, the
governor faulted the claims that he was plotting Okorocha’s assassination.
“I don’t know
about any attempt to assassinate Okorocha, rather what I know, is I have no
personal issues with Okorocha.
“You will
recall that before I became governor, the Ihedioha administration set up a
judicial panel of inquiry to look into acquisitions and allegations of lands,
converting government lands to personal property, and then removing private
lands from individuals and giving them other individuals.
“The judicial panel of inquiry chaired by a judge met and they brought their job to a conclusion. And a white paper has since been raised.
“You know
institutions and agencies that are involved with implementation are doing their
job. And the only thing I know is that a few days ago, the former governor went
with his thugs to one of the properties sealed by government. You people saw
it, it was live.
“He went there with thugs, wounded the policemen there, wounded the NSCDC officer, who is currently still in the hospital and then broke in and entered.
“Of course,
you must have heard him say that he is richer than government and that he is
above the law. I am not directly involved. It is a position taken by
government.
“There is a
difference between governor and government. The government of Imo State sealed
the property. And I think that if there is anything anybody considers not
right, the person should go to court to redress the issue and not take the law
into one’s hand, or take to self-help.
“I remember
that under Ihedioha, there was a recovery committee, chaired by one Jasper
Ndubaku. When they tried to visit Okorocha’s house, they were beaten to a
stupor. And the same man who did that is now doing the same thing and almost
killed the man who did it during his time,” Uzodinma said.
Meanwhile,
Okorocha has debunked the claims that all the 14 persons arrested in connection
with the invasion of Royal Palm Spring Hotel were his aides.
Okorocha, in
a statement signed by his Special Adviser (Media), Sam Onwuemeodo, said
only two of the defendants were his aides.
He said 11
others were staff of the hotel, while one was a social media influencer, who
was there to do his job.
Virtually abandoned Philip Umeadi’s suit against Governor Hope Uzodinma wherein he is praying the Supreme Court ofNigeria to interpret its judgment on December 20, 2019 which disqualified Uche Nwosu as the candidate of the APC by virtue of double nomination by both the APC and AA appears to have resurfaced.
Uche Nwosu in a fresh suit with Philip Umeadi Jnr is asking court to declare Ihedioha winner
who according to him was the next person that got the highest number of votes
in the April 9th Governorship election in Imo.
Recall that Philip Umeadi had on his own instituted suit
against the Governor ofImo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma where he prayed the Supreme Court to
interpret its December 2019 judgment where it ruled amongst others that Uche
Nwosu was nominated by both the APC and the AA, and as such stands disqualified
by virtue of section 37 of 2010 electoral act as amended.
While the Supreme court is yet to hear the
pending suit, which has lasted for over one year, Uche Nwosu now approached
same court now using same Philip Umeadi as a counsel to remove Uzodinma as the
Governor of Imo State.
Although Uche Nwosu had at the time of this report
not informed any personal reasons behind his sudden decision to drag Uzodinma
to court on a matter which was believed he had given up to, by accompanying
Uzodinma to Owerri amongst other leaders on the day of inauguration, but
unconfimed sources revealed to Lead that his decision may not be far from the
attitude of Uzodinma towards his father in-law, Rochas Okorocha in the recent
times.
Few days ago, the Government of Imo State led by
Uzodinma converted the Eastern Palm
University, allegedly built by Okorocha
with the state resources into the state University
In addition to that, the Royal Spring Palm Apartment belonging to Okorocha was seized by the
State Government amongst others.
The ex-governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha has been released by the Imo State Police Command.
This was disclosed by the Spokesperson for the state police command, Orlando Ikeokwu, on a Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ programme on Monday.
Ikeokwu said Okorocha was released on Sunday night after he was “invited” for “questioning” for unsealing the Spring Palm Estate linked to his wife, Nkechi.
“He was released later at night,” the PPRO said, adding, “If anybody is found culpable, definitely, he will be charged to court. If investigation proves that he (Okorocha) has committed an offence, he will be charged to court.”
Earlier, the ex-governor stormed the estate with his supporters, policemen, soldiers and personnel of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps on Sunday morning and ordered the unsealing of the estate.
Okorocha had alleged that his predecessor, Governor Hope Uzodimma, attacked him with “more than 1,000 thugs” but the state Commissioner for Information, Declan Emelumba, dismissed Okorocha’s claims.
Emelumba said that the former governor’s arrest was in line with the report of a White Paper, which indicated that the Royal Palm Estate in the state was built with taxpayers’ money and not Okorocha wife’s property.