Enugu LGA Polls: APC wants ENSIEC chairman arrested, tried, and prosecuted for disobeying court order

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Ignatius Okpara, Latest Headlines Sunday, November 10th, 2013

Ignatius Okpara, Enugu

The Enugu state chapter of All Progressive Congress (APC), has called for the arrest and prosecution of Chairman of the Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission (ENSIEC), Dr. Boniface Eneh, for disobeying the order of an Enugu High Court restraining him from conducting the just concluded council polls in the state.

It would be recalled that Justice Anthony Onovo of the state High court had on 31st October 2013, gave an order stopping ENSIEC from conducting the council election in two local government areas, following an application brought by All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA) in the state seeking an order for judicial review in line with order of mandamus injunction fruited on why ENSIEC should not conducted the said election.

But ENSIEC, on November 2nd, 2013, went ahead with the polls without recourse to the order of the court even when such order was served on the commission before the election date.

Addressing newsmen, Saturday in Enugu, chairman of the APC election committee in Enugu state, Dr. Ben Nwoye, regretted that the ENSIEC boss, could engage in all manner of illegality, in the name of conducting election, “just because he wants to satisfy his employers, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government in the state”.

The APC chieftain insisted that the only way to advance the nation’s democracy was to show all the anti democratic elements occupying sensitive public offices, such as the ENSIEC chairman, the exit door.

He posited that Dr. Eneh, had throughout the process of the controversial council polls, worked against all the basic principles of democracy, stressing that allowing him go unpunished, poses a lot of danger to democratic rule in Enugu state.

Nwoye, who made it clear that his party, APC did not participate in the election, following the unlawful disqualification of all its 17 local government council chairmen and councillorship candidates by the state electoral body, just about two days to the polls, warned that unless the likes of Dr Boniface Eneh, who flouts court order with impunity are made to face the full wrath of the law, the nation’s democracy may be facing serious threat.

He wondered why ENSIEC, under Eneh, could qualify a candidate on Monday to run for an election, and same electoral body will announce the person’s disqualification on Tuesday, describing the whole exercise as laughable.

“I want to make it clear once again, that APC did not participate in the so called Bony Eneh’s November 2nd local government election, we pulled out because ENSIEC didn’t want us to participate, and that is why they unlawfully disqualified all our candidates” Nwoye stated.

But despite the unfortunate development, the former Enugu East senatorial candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria ACN, expressed optimism that the opposition party would still wrestle power from the ruling PDP, come 2015 in the state.

He said “APC is not deterred, because we know the Enugu state people needs change, hence majority of them did not show up during the so called council election, it wasn’t just voter apathy that was experienced on November 2nd , but what the people demonstrated by not coming out was to say, we are tired of PDP government in Enugu state”

“So, we are assuring the people of Enugu state to keep hope alive, as APC will wipe away their tears come 2015, they should embrace the party, because it is for the progressive minds”. He stated.