Court declares Uduaghan’s senatorial ambition, nullity

…I remain the authentic candidate – Ex-governor

TRACKING>>The hope of the immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan to represent Delta South senatorial district in the National Assembly on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been dashed. A High Court sitting in Abuja has declared his nomination a nullity.

The court in a suit filed by a chieftain of the APC, retired Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Terry Okorodudu, ordered the All Progressives Congress to conduct fresh primaries for Delta South Senatorial District to be monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). But, there was pandemonium in the state yesterday over an alleged nullification of the primary election that produced Uduaghan by a High Court in Abuja as the Delta South Senatorial District candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

“The court had at no time ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the name of Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan from the list of candidates in the election,” Uduaghan said. Meanwhile, the former governor said he and the party (APC) were not aware of the case, and neither was he a party to the case nor was never joined in the alleged suit.

However, Uduaghan through his Media Assistant, Monoyo Edon, in a signed statement in Asaba, the state capital, yesterday said he remained the authentic candidate for the senatorial election coming up on Saturday, this week. Specifically, Okorodudu said the process preceding the supposed primary election that produced Uduaghan was tortuous.

Okorodudu, an APC Delta South Senatorial aspirant in the controversial APC primary election in the state, had in the suit described the process that led to his exclusion and others from the purported APC primary as totally shameful, criminal and an abuse of democratic culture. He described the process preceding the supposed primary election as a tortuous experience given that at the end of the day the election did not take place. Okorodudu, who, however, queried how and why Uduaghan was published as the candidate of the APC, when he and other aspirants were looking forward to a credible primary election of the party.

He, therefore, told the court that the decision to clear only Uduaghan for the election and making him a sole candidate was mere affirmation and not election, insisting that it was outright fraudulent because fair opportunity was not given to other aspirants. He described such exercise as a “miscarriage of democratic process,” saying: “The decision to clear only Uduaghan is ridiculous; there was no explanation for that and basically it was a vexing experience.”

He said that there was no accreditation or election just as there was no indication that there was a decision by the party to put only one candidate forward from among all the other aspirants that had obtained the form and fulfilled all the requirements of the electoral process. He expressed worry that as a retired Air Vice Marshal, the decision to exclude him must be premeditated and grievous.

“My concern is that for someone of my caliber; that has served this country for 35 years, and if I can simply be excluded from the election process in the manner it was done, it tells you that there is a danger to our democracy and there is a danger to our country; our country needs to be aware that there is danger lurking somewhere.

“If this can happen to me, you can imagine what has happened or could happen to others. So, it is my duty to talk to Nigerians that this kind of activities must not be allowed to happen without repercussions,” Okorodudu said. Following the decision of the court, Okorodudu was said to have obtained the judgement order, which he served on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).