Ekwunife threatens to sue Umeh for defamation, says no court disqualified her to contest for Senate

www.odogwublog.com reports that Senator Uche Ekwunife, representing Anambra Central senatorial district, yesterday said the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu neither disqualified her nor her party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from participating in the fresh election it ordered for Anambra Central Senatorial District.

Ekwunife, who reacted to publications in some national newspapers to the effect that she and her party, the PDP, was disqualified by the court from participating in the fresh election, said the publication was the handiwork of her opponent of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh. She urged people of the zone to ignore the stories, as they are false.

The senator, who gave out a copy of the enrolment order of the court yesterday in Awka noted that the Court of Appeal, which on Monday, December 7, nullified her election and ordered fresh election did not at any time or point in the judgment disqualify her or her party, adding that no court can disqualify a candidate on the basis of a flawed primary.

In the enrolment order, signed by Justice A. D. Yahaya, the court ordered as follows: “That this appeal succeeds and it is hereby allowed. That the perverse decision of the tribunal delivered on the 9th of October 2015 is hereby set aside. That the 1st respondent herein Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is hereby ordered to conduct a fresh election into the Anambra Central Senatorial District within 90 days from today (December 7) and that there shall be N50, 000 cost to the appellants.”
However, Ekwunife expressed unhappiness that the national dailies that published the story of her alleged disqualification did not seek her reaction before going to press and described the story as the imagination of Chief Umeh.

She said: “I want to say that it’s unfortunate that Victor Umeh is still going up and down doing what he does best, blackmailing and propaganda. Propaganda and blackmail cannot give him a senatorial seat; it will not make him win. I was in court, he was in court, he has his lawyers and I have my own lawyers. We have the judgment of the court; we have the enrolment order of the court, so, for someone that is very, very vast in legal maters as Victor Umeh to come up with that kind of allegation is laughable.
“First of all, no court disqualified me, no court disqualified my party. I have given you the enrolment order to go through. It is very surprising to hear that from him. If they disqualified me, the simple thing would have been for them to declare him the winner and no court can disqualify a candidate based on flawed primaries. It is not possible. It is unfortunate they did him legal wayo. Maybe he was waiting or he must have bargained for me to be disqualified, unfortunately, I wasn’t disqualified.
“I am in for this election and I will win again, I will win hands down. People are waiting for him. Since that judgment came up, they murdered the happiness of the zone. You are in Anambra Central, you see what is going on here, people are not happy, stakeholders, women are crying for the freest election in Anambra State to have gone this way.