Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba Campaign Organisation has rejected the cancellation of the November 1, 2014 Ward congresses in Cross River state.
Briefing some newsmen in Calabar on Friday, the Director General of the campaign team, Chief Ernest Ireke said, “I want to state very clearly on the side of the Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba campaign organization that whatever has been ascribed to the cancellation is vehemently rejected by us. We are not happy with that development because we had prepared ourselves for the next stage of the contest and we are hearing funny stories.
“Nobody has communicated to us what has happened and as far as we are concerned our position is still the same as it was after we won the first November 1, 2014 ad hoc elections. If you recall, this matter is in the courts and the court has reserved ruling. I don’t know why the party is in such a big hurry to circumvent what the court would do.”
Meanwhile, the Federal High Court, Abuja Division has fixed next Monday, November 24, 2014 to deliver judgment in the case instituted against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for allegedly tampering with the results of the ward congresses conducted in Cross River on November 1, 2014.
Precisely on November 6, Hon. Jones Tangban and others had instituted an action at the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/824/2014, asking that the PDP, its National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu, the National Secretary, Prof Wale Oladipo, the party’s NWC and the INEC be restrained from taking any step on the list.
They prayed the court to grant “an order of interim injunction restraining the 1st- 4th defendants, their agents, servants or assigns from taking any step or receiving and acting on any purported report or list of candidates or persons purporting to be the list of elected delegates at the ward congress held in Cross River State on November 1, 2014 from any person or persons other than the Electoral committee.”
“From that statement I saw in Vanguard, there is no mention of that at all. That means the party is not interested in the suspension of people that would normally partake in this same process, which they have cancelled. That means if it is canceled, everybody should start afresh but no statement was issued about the suspension. No statement has been issued about the court issue.
“In Ebonyi and Adamawa States, the excos were dissolved and caretaker committees are now running the places. We cannot imagine that in Cross River state, where we have cried foul and they have confirmed it themselves that there are two very sharp divisions, you still leave one party to be in charge to announce those who are going to be the presiding officers, and returning officers in the election of Monday, which they are anticipating. We will not partake in that kind of process where our legs and hands have been tied and we have been blindfolded.
“In any case, most importantly is the fact that the matter is in court. The court would determine it and we would go ahead. I have seen so many matters in the country determined long after that. They can go ahead and have their swell time if they want to. If they are in a hurry to get delegates, that is their business. Nobody has called any of us before the party secretariat in Abuja to even take our side of the story. We have always heard that the other side has been going there. So if they think they have got their way through we are going to wait for whatever is the outcome of the court process and go through it,” Ireke stated.
