Abia Governorship Tussle: Akintola, Ali carpet Agbakoba, Falana

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN), has condemned an earlier opinion credited to his fellow senior colleagues, Olisa Agbakoba and Femi Falana, that the sit­ting Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, is no lon­ger a governor in the eyes of the law.

Akintola said since the governor’s lawyers had sub­mitted the appeal notice to the Independent National Elector­al Commission (INEC), it was wrong for INEC to issue a Cer­tificate of Return to Mr Uche Ogah. He added that with the ‘immediate effect’ statement of the Federal High Court, it is of no effect pending the Appeal and Supreme Courts’ decision on the matter.

The foremost lawyer further stated that he was disheart­ened by the contradictory and self-serving statements of his fellow learned men, saying that their position in Amechi vs Omehia and others is con­trary to their take on the cur­rent Abia issue involving Ik­peazu and Ogah.

Specifically, he pointed out that both the constitution and the Electoral Act were unam­biguous on the matter. He ar­gued that Uche Ogah did not participate in the real election, neither did he win the party primary to be considered as governor of the state.

“In the first place, in the eyes of the law, the order of the court to INEC to issue Certifi­cate of Return ‘with immediate effect’ was over-taken by event; the event being the governor’s appeal against the jugdement which is clearly according to the law.”