ABIA CRISIS: DON’T TAKE OUR SILENCE FOR GRANTED, ABIA PDP TELLS OGAH

The party also warned the arrow head behind the crisis, Uche Ogah, to know that its golden silence and peace should not be taken for cowardice, adding that he who makes peaceful change impossible makes violent change inevitable.

The party in a statement by its Abia State chairman, Chief Johnson Onuigbo; Legal Adviser, Ikechukwu Omenihu and Publicity Secretary, Sir Don Ubani! said contrary to the allegations of tax default leveled against governor Okezie Ikpeazu, “there is no requirement for payment of tax at all or as and when due in the Constitution, Electoral Act or INEC nomination form.”

According to the party, the whole world has been transfixed and spell-bound in the last few days at the unprecedented but well-scripted plot to hijack the office of Governor of Abia State from the lawful occupant, Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, Ph.D., the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the general elections of April 2016.

The PDP believes that the evil plot is orchestrated by Mr. Samson Uchechukwu Ogah with very powerful forces backing him.
“The good people of Abia State are shocked not only at the highly perverse and ridiculous judgment entered in his favor by an Abuja Federal High Court, but much more stunned at the obvious collusion by agencies of state, in the very desperate agenda to foist Ogah on them.

“Without indulging in too much legality, it is now a trite principle of Law and indeed of public policy that if there is a Judgment against an occupant of an elective position invalidating his election, he remains in office until he has exhausted his right of appeal which in the case of the Abia Governor, terminates at the Supreme Court.

“Yet, inspite of the fact that Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, Ph.D., has filed and served a Notice of Appeal against the decision of the Hon. Justice Okon Abang of the FHC, Abuja, purporting to have invalidated his election as Governor of Abia State as well as a Motion for Stay of Execution and said processes had been served on INEC, the latter who should be an impartial arbiter went ahead to recklessly issue a Certificate of Return to Uche Ogah.

“ Nigerians ask: What exactly is the haste? The answer lies in the events of Thursday the 16th June 2016. On that day, Uchechukwu Samson Ogah, his company, Masters Energy Oil and Gas Limited and their co-conspirator, One Deji Somoye were docked and arraigned before a Tinubu Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, for alleged fraud.

“ They were docked on three counts of forgery, conspiracy, etc with the police alleging after an investigation, that Ogah forged documents and signatures with which they fraudulently opened an account in the name of Mut-Hass Petroleum and used it to commit fraud. Ogah and his co-conspirators were admitted to bail and the case was adjourned to 4th August 2016 for commencement of trial.

“From that moment a very desperate hunger for immunity before the 4th August 2016 was activated; large humongous resources was deployed and the rest as they say is now history.

“In the desperate attempt to obtain immunity so as to evade his criminal trial, Ogah and his co-conspirators are prepared to bring down Abia State, stain the judiciary and other institutions of State in order to achieve their selfish goals. Unfortunately for them, Abia is God’s own State and this conspiracy by enemies of the State will fail”, the PDP said.

The PDP noted that there is no requirement for payment of tax at all or as and when due in the constitution, Electoral Act or INEC Nomination Form but that the tax documents included by aides of Dr. Ikpeazu in the Nomination Form sent to INEC are genuine and there are absolutely no false entries in them.

“Even if for purposes of argument (Not conceded), there were mistakes in the tax documents, Dr. Ikpeazu was not responsible for such mistakes and his mandate given by hundreds of thousands of Abia voters cannot be invalidated on the basis of a spurious and unfounded allegation”, it said and called on Nigerians to appreciate exactly the gravity of what is at the heart of this evil plot.