By Thompson Yamput
A group of Constituents of Kogi Central Senatorial District has described the Court Injunction Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan obtained barring INEC from receiving recall petition against her as a “realisation that she’s gone.”
The group, known as the Kogi Central Renaissance Assembly, in a statement signed by the Coordinator, Adeku Joshua; and Secretary, Maleek Sule on Friday in Lokoja, warned the embattled senator not to try any other strategy over the recall process or “you’re coming home.”
According to them, the recent court injunction obtained by the embattled lawmaker representing the central senatorial district, which restrains the Independent National Electoral Commissio (INEC) from receiving a petition for her recall, as a sign that “she has realised that she is as good as gone.”
The constituents, who cut across the five local government areas of the senatorial district, said, “once intentions are not pure, individuals are bound to commit irreversible blunders, “which is the case of Mrs. Akpoti-Uduaghan.”
They claimed that desperation had pushed the senator into describing the recall signatures as fictitious, stressing that she should have left them (signatures) for INEC to unravel during its verification exercise.
“It is laughable that the same person who has called the recall process a sham is the same person that has gone to tell the court to restrain the electoral umpire from receiving or acting on the petition, even when she says the signatures are fictitious.
“We understand your plight. This is last-minute desperation to save yourself the embarrassment of a recall. But we, the constituents of Kogi Central, insist that you have already embarrassed both yourself and the district, and home you shall come.
“The courts are for everybody. You can’t force yourself on us. You should know that this your course of action is dead on arrival.
“We will keenly follow the recall process through in order to redeem our image, the image of the state and that of Nigeria at large.
“We, Ebiras, are not enablers of blackmail and unruly behaviour. We stand by this recall and will see it through. The world should know that we are people of integrity. Enough of embarrassing the entire country on the world stage over ridiculous allegations backed by no evidence,” they declared.
It could be recalled that a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja had, on Friday, granted an interim injunction restraining INEC, its staff, or agents from receiving, accepting, or acting on any petition containing what the Sen. Akpoti-Uduaghan called “fictitious signatures of purported members of her aenatorial Dldistrict.
Justice Isa Dashen of Federal High Court, had issued the injunction after listening to the application moved by Mr Smart Nwachimere, of West-Idahosa, SAN & Co, counsel the applicants.
The applicants, Anebe Jacob Ogirma, John Adebosi, Musa Siyaka Adeiza, Hon. Ahmed Usman, and Maleek Yahaya, had through their counsel suit INEC over the alleged ongoing recalling process of Sen Akpoti-Uduaghan, Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District.
Nwachimere prayed the court not to receive any petition containing fictitious signatures of purported members of Kogi Central Senatorial District and conducting any referendum upon such petition for the purpose of initiating a re-call process of Akpoti-Uduaghan as Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pending the determination of the Motion on Notice to the same effect.
The ex-parte application for the interim injunction, he said, was supported by an Affidavit of Extreme urgency together with other court processes sworn to by Anebe Jacob Ogirima for himself and four others who are registered voters and constituents of Kogi central senatorial district of Kogi.
Justice Dashen granted the application and ordered that the court’s enrolled order and the motion on notice be served on the defendant/despondent (INEC) pending the determination of the substantive suit.
He adjourned tge case to May 6 for service of notice and further mention. (ephemeralnews.com.ng)
