POLITICS
Cross River: INEC re-affirms John Owan-Enoh as APC governorship
candidate
The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday at a renewed sitting of the
Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal in Calabar, Cross River, reaffirmed
the nomination of Senator John Owan Enoh as the lawful candidate of the All
Progressives Congress for the March 9 governorship election.
The commission,
while arguing in a suit no EPT/CAL/COV01/2019, however, said “Sen. Enoh was not
excluded from the elections as claimed by the petitioner since he participated
in the exercise having been re-listed.”
Senator Owan Enoh
had petitioned the electoral umpire, which is the Second Respondent and
Governor Ben Ayade, the First Respondent in the matter alleged unlawful
exclusion from the election.
Counsel to INEC,
Dele Adeshina had stated that “Sen. Enoh was the duly nominated candidate of
the APC and that the commission had issued a letter dated 8th March to that
effect.
Apparently smarting
from the petition, Adeshina said “the candidate, however, participated in the
election and so was not excluded.”
In his argument,
Counsel to Sen. Enoh, Awa Kalu (SAN), said the petitioner would not have
participated in an election if he was excluded.
According to him,
the issue of faction as raised by the first respondent Counsel does not exist
in internal democracy especially when it has to do with the sponsorship or
nomination of candidates.
He contended that
“the issue of factions applies only in the parliament when there’s a crisis
within a party leading to cross-carpeting by legislators and not on the basis
of nomination of candidates for election.
He averred that
”Sen. Owan Enoh was duly nominated for the Governorship election by his party
but was unlawfully excluded for the March 9 polls by the commission”.
The legal luminary,
however, challenged the first and second respondents to be the first to prove
otherwise, the petition on exclusion stressing that INEC had never argued
against a phone call made by the State Electoral Commissioner (REC) at 12 pm on
the elections day congratulating the petitioner for being relisted as the APC
Candidate for the race.
Counsel to Sen.
Ayade, Paul Erokoro (SAN) had argued that “though the Petitioner was nominated
for the election but his nomination was done by a faction of his party”.
Justice Josiah
Majebi has put the ruling on the onus of proof on exclusion or otherwise for
Tuesday, March 17th 2019.
SHARE THIS STORY
The Cross River State Police has arrested a 48-year-old cleric, Pastor
Dominic John, for raping his 12-year-old housemaid, identified as Eno.
The Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade
and the Minister of State for Works, Power and Housing, Mr Mustapha Baba
Shehuri have paid a visit to the Global Headquarters of Skipper Seil in India.
The firm is also involved with the construction of
power projects owned by the Dangote Group.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has described
the decision of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, to
hold Local Government elections in June as sacrilegious.