Umeh wants to contest senatorial re-run alone; accuses Ekwunife of desperation …Urges INEC to call PDP, APC to order

Former national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and the party’s candidate for Anambra Central senatorial district re-run election, Chief Victor Umeh has described Senator Uche Ekwunife’s defection from the PDP to APC as an act of desperation.
Umeh who was reacting to Ekwunife’s recent defection to APC after her election was nullified by the Appeal Court panel expressed shock that she was still desperate to be a candidate in the re-run even after the court pronounced that she was not properly nominated as PDP candidate.
“That’s what makes nonsense of the entire situation. Somebody contested an election through a party, got disqualified in that party and tries to jump to another party to contest the same election against same candidates; its absurd; its an act of desperation.
“Her continued search for alternative platform to become part of the same election is an illusion; its not something that can materialize under any circumstance. I have decided not to look at what they are doing; whether APC declares the exercise inconclusive, the whole actions bother on illegality.”
He urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately call the leaderships of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to order in view of their plans to field fresh candidates for the re-run election.
Umeh who spoke with newsmen in Enugu at the weekend said while the PDP had lost its right to field any candidate for the senatorial election following the judgment of the Court of Appeal to the effect that its original candidate, Senator Uche Ekwunife was not validly nominated hence the nullification of the election, the APC on their part can only field Senator Chris Ngige or nobody else.
He threatened to proceed to the courts if both parties field fresh candidates for the election, pointing out that the Supreme Court in the case between Labour Party vs INEC had ruled that only persons that participated in a nullified election who were eligible should take part in a rerun or fresh election.
While expressing surprise that the APC leadership allowed its members to be tinkering with the idea of a fresh party primary election in a case already settled by the court, Umeh said he would go the whole hog to challenge the process until justice was done.
He, however, said the APC was still free to field Senator Ngige to take part in the process, insisting, however, that he (Ngige) must first resign from his present position as the Minister of Labour and Productivity before joining the race again.
“I don’t really understand what is going on within the PDP and the APC. They should revisit Supreme Court’s decision on such issue. APGA will want the election to be conducted within the established rules. We’ll not go into any election with improper candidates because that will clearly lead to another nullification.”