Despite Supreme Court’s verdict, Uba, Oduah Attend Senate Functions

 
In spite of last week’s verdict of the Supreme Court which affected their status, the duo of Senators Andy Uba and Stella Oduah were yesterday spotted within the National Assembly moving from one office to the other, conducting legislative businesses and attending committee functions.

Uba in particular was spotted at the meeting of the Senate Joint Committees on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, while Senator Uduah was cited visiting different offices and attending to files when our correspondent sneaked into her office.

Their presence at the National Assembly caught the attention of staff and visitors, who have been following political developments in Anambra State.

A panel of the Supreme Court justices was believed to have reaffirmed an earlier Federal High Court’s verdict, declaring that the Ejike Oguebego-led PDP executive had the sole right to hold the primaries in Anambra State.

The Apex Court upheld an earlier decision by Justice Chukwu of the Federal High Court which laid out the proper procedures for selection of the PDP’s legislative candidates.

The decision of the apex court considered by some persons as ambiguous was thought to have swept away all the National Assembly members from Anambra State on the platform of the PDP.

In December 2014, the Federal High Court had ruled that it was only the constitutionally recognised state party leadership led by Ejike Oguebego that could organise the Party primaries.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been asked to release the certificates of returns to Chief Chris Uba, Senator Annie Okonkwo, Senator John Emeka and 41 others.

This was contained in a letter by Chief Chris Uche (SAN) who is the legal council to the chairman of the Anambra state chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ejike Oguebego.

Uche in his letter addressed to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, was titled “Compliance with judgement of Supreme Court Anambara state PDP National Assembly Candidates SC/37/2015-Ejike Oguebego and Anor vs Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)” and dated 29th January 2016. He also copied copied the Chairman, Legal Services Committee, INEC Headquarters, Abuja; Ibrahim Bawa, (SAN), Director, Legal services department INEC and Hassan Liman, SAN INEC Lead Counsel.

The letter came on the heels of last week’s Supreme Court Judgment which resolved the leadership crisis in the Anambra State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the favour of the Ejike Oguebego faction which conducted primaries for the affected persons.

The apex court, in a unanimous judgment by a five-man bench upheld Ejike Oguebego led executive committee of the party against the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

Uche stated that the effect of the Supreme Court judgment is that those who were not part of the list of candidates produced by the congress/primary elections under the watch of Oguebego and his executive committee ought and must vacate the positions they presently occupy on the ground that they were not validly nominated.

He further added that now that the apex court has finally settled this matter, it was the responsibility of INEC to enforce and comply with the said judgement.

The letter reads in part: “the effect of the Supreme Court judgment consequently is that all those who were not part of the list of candidates produced by the congress/primary elections that the Ejike Oguebego and his executive committee participated in, and monitored by INEC ought and must vacate the positions they presently occupy having not been validly nominated.