Is It Not Yet Time To Arrest Okey Ezeh?

Source: E. S. Njoku Esq

Since the 8th of December 2014 Governorship Primary Election by the national leadership of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) at Rosy Arts Theatre Ikenegbu Owerri, the media have been inundated with an impression that there is confusion as to who the authentic governorship candidate of the party in Imo State is. Regrettably, this media hype has been continuously sponsored by one of the aspirants who lost in the exercise by name Mr. Okey Ezeh.

On the above stated date, APGA Governorship Primary Election dully held at the Rosy Arts Theatre Ikenegbu Owerri. The exercise was monitored by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Police, State Security Service (SSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps. It was also dully superintended by the Election Committee set up by the leadership of the party led by the Chief Returning Officer Prince Austin Ndigwe. Accordingly, the election was conducted in line with APGA constitution and the party's election guidelines. The three aspirants for the governorship race including were physically present at the event. They all addressed the delegates before the election started and fully participated with their agents and supporters throughout the exercise. I remember that Capt. Emma Ihenacho was the first to speak that day, followed by Mazi Okey Unegbu. Mr. Okey Ezeh was the last to speak. I can vividly remember part of his statement to all who gathered. Speaking in Igbo he said '… k'uche Chineke me…' meaning 'let the will of God be done'. At the end of the exercise, the total number of votes cast were 1035. The names and scores of the aspirants with the number of voided votes are as follows:

1. Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho - 972 votes

2.Mr. Okey Eze - 44 votes

3.Mazi Okechukwu Unegbu - 3 votes

4.Void Votes - 16 votes

Consequently, Capt Ihenacho was returned elected as the party's flag-bearer and also issued with a Certificate of Return before the close of the exercise.

One of the contestants Mazi Okey Unegbu later congratulated Capt Ihenacho promising to support the candidate and the party to win the 2015 general elections.

Subsequently, when the electoral body released its final list of governorship candidates in the entire federation, Capt. Ihenacho and his running mate Barr. Ike C. Ibe were listed as the APGA governorship and deputy governorship standard bearers respectively.

However, it is very ridiculous that the runners up in the above primary election, Mr.. Ezeh, has continuously tried to deceive some section of the press and the general public with absolute falsehood and fake press statements. He claims that he is the authentic governorship candidate for APGA in Imo State.

In another development, Mr. Ezeh having lost or failed in his bid to deceive the public into believing that he was the APGA governorship candidate in Imo State, now tries to give the impression that he is challenging the candidature of Capt Ihenacho in a law court. He also claims that the court would soon make him a governorship standard bearer. For example, on the 23rd of January 2015, while answering questions in a radio programme in Owerri, Ezeh categorically said that the court would declare him the APGA governorship candidate on the 26thof January, 2015. Grapevine also has it that the man has been boasting in some quarters that he has compromised the judge who is handling the case and is sure that the Federal High Court Owerri would soon make him the APGA governorship candidate.

This is the most fraudulent, ridiculous, childish, unpatriotic and wicked political intrigue I have ever seen.

On the contrary, the case of Senator Godwin Ararume of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is clear. Ararume has gone to court to clearly challenge the primaries that nominated Hon. Emeka Ihedioha PDP governorship candidate in Imo State. Ararume is a party to the suit and Ihedioha is also a co-defendant. Such is not the case of Okey Ezeh. The ex banker is being deceived by those who are happily exploiting his ignorance to have a field day of his money.

From the above, it means that nobody is presently challenging Ihenacho's candidature or nomination as the APGA gubernatorial candidate in Imo State in any court of law.

Some time ago, the same Okey Ezeh 'manufactured' a court order that never existed and sold to the press that an Etiti High Court stopped APGA from screening Capt Ihenacho. When the lie was discovered, the desperado went home in shame and has come out again now with another brand of deceptive style.

However, I have gone to the Federal High Court Owerri to critically find out the true position of the case Mr. Ezeh claims of challenging Capt Ihenacho's governorship candidature in court. Lo and behold, the case I met there is the case of one Prince C. C. Nwaka and six other plaintiffs against APGA and 12 other defendants. The claims in the suit are very clear. It is solely on the tenure of the Nwaka-led former Executive of the APGA in Imo State. It was even filed before the primary election that saw Capt. Ihenacho emerged the party's governorship standard bearer in the state. The subject matter in the entire suit does not include anything pertaining to primary election or authenticity or otherwise of Capt Ihenacho's candidature as APGA governorship candidate. Also, neither Okey Ezeh nor Capt Ihenacho is a party to the suit.. What a deceit!

For those who do not know, C.C. Nwaka was the former chairman of APGA in Imo State when Governor Rochas Okorocha was elected governor but he later resigned his chairmanship and picked up an appointment as the Chairman of Imo State Civil Commission. Governor Okorocha later dismissed him from the Civil Service Commission. He has since been succeeded by three state chairmen of the party namely Marshal Okoroanyanwu, Chudi Onuzo and Barr. Peter Ezeobi. Recently, he filed a frivolous suit in court asking the court to bring him back as chairman of APGA in Imo State. The case is still pending while the tenure he is claiming has by effluxion of time expired on the 9th of February 2015. If a party chairman accepts political appointment and works in that capacity for more than a year, can that chairman come back to lay claim on his position as a party chairman three years after resignation? Can such a person conduct a valid governorship primary election? That is the case Okey Ezeh is referring to and it is the court that will answer the above questions.

Recently, Mr. Ezeh in his desperation to deceive the public further told the press lies on what transpired in court in the said Nwaka case on the 10th of February 2015. Instead of telling the press that an application to dismiss Nwaka's case was brought by the lawyer representing APGA and other defendants in the case, Mr. Eze went to tell the press that the counsel had admitted Nwaka's case and that the court would soon remove Capt Ihenacho and substitute his name as the governorship candidate of APGA in Imo State. That is very unfair to a matter that is before a court. Okey Ezeh should not think that our courts are places one can toy with. When a case is still in court, one does not make a statement that contradicts the true position of court proceedings. One does not tell lies over the true position in court. The courts frown at it with gravity because such can ridicule the integrity of the court. Also, his claim that he has allegedly compromised the judge is a very serious issue. We know Justice Shuaibu Mohammed who is handling the case very well. He is a man of integrity. Therefore, he is not the type of person whom Okey Ezeh and his cohorts can compromise.

Regrettably, when Mr. Ezeh went to the National Secretariat of APGA in Abuja to obtain his Expression of Interest/Nomination Forms for the above governorship primaries, he sponsored some members of the Imo State Working Committee of APGA to accompany him. Okey Eze also induced the officials into going with a petition against the chairman of the party. However, instead of going with these officials on an aircraft, these officials used a commercial bus. On their way back, they had an automobile accident and five out of the lot in the vehicle died while the survivors are still nursing different degrees of injuries till the time of this write-up. The irony in the whole saga is that when the incident happened, Mr. Eze issued a press statement disassociating himself from sponsoring the victims on the journey to Abuja. It was only when the National Chairman of the party Chief Victor Umeh came to visit the injured ones in Owerri that he exposed the above lies of Mr. Eze. Chief Umeh categorically told the press that the victims really accompanied Mr. Eze to his office in Abuja to obtain Governorship Expression of Interest/Nomination Forms. That shows how callouse one can be even in the things concerning life and death.

No wonder Mr Ezeh's Campaign Director Elder Sunny Nwadialo recently abandoned him for Ken Ojiri the Accord Party candidate for Imo State with other of his (Mr. Ezeh's) associates dispersing for more progressive political camps.

I believe people who are presently pushing Mr. Ezeh are those who have not gotten their own share of the money the man claims to 'lavish' around.

On a more serious note, these fraudulent political intrigues of Okey Ezeh seems to confirm the earlier rumour that the Mbaise-born former bank staff was actually 'planted' and sponsored by political opponents of APGA to disorganise, destroy and prevent the party from succeeded in the 2015 general election. However, 'it is an effort in futility throwing sand on a cruising aircraft'.

His recent game now is his claim that he is going to establish more than 27 companies in Imo State. He never established one when since forty something years he was born except now that election is around the corner. Let us wait after the elections to know whether the industries would still be built.

In his recent outing, Uche Ogbuagu a popular comedian in Igbo Land, remarks that Imo people are wiser and more intelligent now . Therefore, Okey Eze and his cohorts cannot deceive them as the truth speaks for itself.

Therefore, APGA members, the media and the general public should ignore and disregard all Okey Ezeh's media claims as they are completely false, malicious, deceptive and desperate intrigues by enemies, pessimists and political opponents of APGA only targeted to pull down the party and make sure that it loses the 2015 general election. But God will not allow them to succeed.

On the other hand, APGA members should not be distracted by these antics. Rather, they should be more focused at this period and support Capt Ihenacho and the other candidates that emerged in the party to reclaim the leadership of Imo State..

Finally, it is also the view of this writer that the Federal High Court Owerri should order Mr. Ezeh to appear before it to purge himself of contempt having respected the court by misquoting its proceedings and his claim to have allegedly compromised a judicial officer into giving him judgement.

E. S. Njoku Esq. writes from Owerri

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