Fireworks as Enugu PDP candidates battle to retain ticket

Former Information Minister, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr By Christopher Isiguzo in Enugu Following the postponement of the general elections to March 28 and April 11, the battle over who are the authentic candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for National Assembly seats from Enugu state will resume this week at the Federal High Court, Abuja. At the last count, no fewer than 10 cases have been filed at different courts in Abuja. Those who have approached the Abuja high court seeking for redress include Hon. Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi challenging the candidature of Mr. Dennis Oguerinwa Amadi (Udi/Ezeagu federal constituency), Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr who is opposing the candidature of Senator Gil Nnaji (Enugu East senatorial zone), Hon. Pat Asadu against Iyke Ugwuegede (Nsukka/Igboeze south federal constituency) and Mr. Dave Nnamani against Dr. Kingsley Ebenyi (Enugu east/Isiuzo federal constituency). THISDAY checks revealed that of all the above cases, the case instituted by Ozomgbachi against Dennis Amadi has posed peculiar interest to keen observers who claim the case was an “abuse of court process and attempt to deceive the judiciary through hopeless claims.” It was learnt that Ozomgbachi, a three-term member of House of Representatives had defied a valid court injunction which restrained him from parading himself as a candidate of the PDP for Udi/Ezeagu federal constituency. He reportedly filed a case against Amadi, the PDP and INEC; praying that he was the elected candidate of the party from the primary election conducted at Udi local government headquarters on Saturday, December 6, 2014. Justice R. O. Odugu of an Enugu state High court had on December 11 2014 in Suit No E/501/2014 ordered that Ozomgbachi and three others be restrained from parading themselves as persons elected at the primary election for the constituency. The court also restrained the PDP from recognizing or accepting names of Ozomgbachi and the three others, respectively, or to forward their names to INEC as candidates from the primary election. Without waiting to vacate the order that restrained him, Ozomgbachi in an alleged disregard to the rule of law, on December 15, 2014 approached the federal high court in Abuja in Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/1026/2014, claiming to be the authentic candidate that emerged from the said primary election and is praying the court of law to declare him as such. Ozomgbachi in his affidavit supporting the originating summons claimed he scored 98 votes to come tops, alleging that some soldiers and party officials drove into the venue of the primary election and confiscated the result from the returning officer and later announced Dennis Amadi as winner. Ozomgbachi, who however refused to name the PDP officials that conducted the primary election, also claimed that the national assembly primary elections appeal panel produced a report that favoured him. However, in a counter affidavit opposing Ozomgbachi’s originating summons, counsels to Amadi, Ogochukwu Onyekwuluje and Peter Eze, faulted Ozomgbachi’s claims by citing justice A. F Ademola’s rejection of a prayer to compel the PDP use a purported list of delegates which every other plaintiff in the Enugu PDP impasse having been banking on as backbone for successes of their cases. source:thisdays