Anambra Central: Umeh Waves Off Appeal From Four Senators, Lines Up 22 Witnesses Against Ekwunife

Senator Victor Umeh is disregarding the plea of four of his predecessors not to bring litigation into the election of Senator Uche Ekwunife for the Anambra Central Senatorial Seat.

At the pre-trial conference into his petition against her election, it was revealed that Umeh who was the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA candidate had mobilized 22 witnesses to argue his case against Ekwunife ahead of the commencement of trial fixed for Monday, June 1, 2019.

Umeh who is the incumbent senator was defeated by Ekwunife who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the February 2019 National Assembly election.

Umeh had in his petition marked EPT/AN/SEN/2019, besides Ekwunife, joined the PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in the case.

INEC is to call 22 witnesses while the PDP during the pre-trial conference said it would call 16 witnesses.

Four former senators who represented Anambra Central Senatorial District have launched a bold attempt to stop further litigation in the case being brought against Mrs. Uche Ekwunife’s election to the seat.

Four former senators had last week in a joint statement appealed to the Social Democratic Party, SDP candidate in the election, Mr. Tony Chukwueleue, to drop his case against his exclusion from the election on the claim that it would lead to another prolonged battle that could deny the constituency representation in the Senate.

The appeal was against the background of the prolonged case between Ekwunife and Umeh that lasted more than two years. That case followed Ekwunife’s expulsion from the Senate upon the claim that she was not validly elected.

Those who appealed that a repeat of the arbitration should be avoided through Chukwueleue’s withdrawal of his petition were Senators Ebenezer Ikeyina, Ikechukwu Abana, Ben Ndi Obi and Annie Okonkwo.

In the joint statement, the senators said:

“We are very mindful of both a candidate and a political party’s right to approach the election tribunal and challenge the conduct or result of an election. Regardless, we are of the firm view that Anambra Central cannot afford to go through another spate of endless post-election litigation as happened following the 2015 election which had a very negative impact on our constituency.

“It is against this backdrop that we decided to send this message to Chukwueleue to literally sheath his sword for the benefit and in the interest of Anambra Central to discontinue with the petition as an acclaimed patriot, who has true love for the zone and who would never want the zone to suffer another political deprivation in the current political dispensation. In due time and if it is the will of God, the people of Anambra Central will reward Barr Chukwueleue for this selfless act in withdrawing this petition.”

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