Imperative Of “Doctrine Of Necessity” For Anambra Senatorial Re-Run Election by Polycarp Onwubiko

The time-honoured aphorism that “necessity is the mother of invention” could be said to apply on all fours in the apparent political quandary and logjam in the flawed election of the three senatorial districts in Anambra state. A dictionary defines “doctrine” as “a belief or set of beliefs held or taught by a church or political party”. On the other hand, “necessity” connotes “the fact that something must happen or be done; the need for something; a thing that you must have and cannot manage without…a situation that must happen and that cannot be avoided”. In other words, it is given that a difficult new problem forces people to think of a practical, pragmatic and justifiable solution to it.
The general elections in the country in 2015 presented complex dilemma in the three senatorial zones in Anambra state. The source and spring of the avoidable conundrum is traceable to the seemingly intractable brazen impunity, institutional lethargy and woeful lack of institutional integrity in some political parties and the electoral umpire, INEC. The muddles led to inconsistencies in the application of guidelines in the conduct of primaries in the political parties especially the behemoth PDP. In PDP, factional in-fighting and tug-of -war engendered two line-ups to contest the senatorial seats. Thelargely compromised INEC lacked the moral template to stand up against the brazen violation of the Electoral Act and the matter was not settled before the polls.
 The reasonable thing would have for the INEC to stop PDP from partaking in the polls until the court sorted the matter out. The purported victory of a candidate of Ken Emeakayi faction of PDP in the Anambra central senatorial district, Chief Mrs. Uche Ekwunife became a subject of litigation in the election tribunal instituted by APGA candidate, Chief Victor Umeh. Eventually, the victory was nullified at the Appeal Court which recommended for a re-run since the primary which threw up the candidate was faulted.
As Anambra electorate who had been taken for a ride in similar ugly scenario in the past were calculating the rational step to take to have justice in the re-run polls, the Supreme Court made a “Declaratory” verdict that recognized Oguebego faction as the authentic Anambra state Executive of the PDP. As if brazen impunity was let loose, the candidates in the primaries of the recognized Oguebego faction namely: Chief Chris Ubah for Anambra south senatorial district, Chief Annie Okonkwo for Anambra central and Mr. John Emeka for Anambra northrose in jubilation, contending that INEC should withdraw the Certificates of Returns from Dr. Andy Ubah, Stella Oduah and Chief Mrs. Uche Ekwunife respectively and hand them to them. The trio stormed the INEC headquarters, Abuja to make good their claims.  The ludicrous dimension of the sordid scenario is that Andy Ubah and Stella Odua were reported to have refused to vacate their seats in the hallowed chamber of the senate since the apex court never made mandatory declaration in the verdict.
In its statement, INEC brazenly contended that it has not yet gotten the details of the verdict which would enable it decide the fate of the candidates of the recognized Ejike Oguebego faction. Fact remains that whatever decision the electoral umpire will come up with, the interest of the electorate must be upper-most. The three senatorial zones have thrown up a peculiar situation which was not contemplated in the constitution and the Electoral Act. Therefore the development has become a necessity which an invention for equitable resolution is a desideratum.
The electorate must be availed of the opportunity to recast their votes for the senatorial seats in a fresh poll. It would amount to grave injustice, inequity and immoral for the INEC to simply hand over the Certificate of Returns to the Ejike Oguebego candidates whom the electorate never knew due to the plethora of court judgments amongfactions in the naïve contention that it is the political parties that win elections. Justice demands these candidates should campaign and present themselves to the electorate since the preference of Mr. ‘A’ in PDP by a voter in the cancelled election cannot be the same with Mr. ‘B’ in the necessary re-run election. It needs no emphasis that the upper chamber of the national legislature is not a place for frivolities and mediocre but an arena formatured people with diverse public service experience and robust intellectualism. Thus the likes of two formidable candidates of APGA namely Chief Sir Victor Umeh and Engr. Earnest Ndukwe are the ideal which the electorate should be allowed toto make conscious choice.
The Electoral Act did not envisage the peculiar development in Anambra state thus the imperative of the “Doctrine of “Necessity” for a re-run of the senatorial polls. The aphorism that when two elephants fight, the grass suffers applies here. The electorates were confused among the aspirants of the two PDP factions. The two factions should now come together and conduct fresh primaries for new candidates; who along with candidates of other parties, should go back to the polls.
Morality, rationality and justice to the electorate demands that these new candidates of the PDP should not just be given free ride into the senate; rather, they should bestir themselves and prepare for the re-run along with the Anambra central senatorial district. Since the Supreme Court has given repulsive and perverse judgments on the governorship elections in Cross River and Rivers states, brazen electoral malfeasance could be resorted to by these aspirants by mobilizing hordes of hell to ‘win’ the election and proceed to the courts for validation.
It is naive for the INEC to deny the new APC candidate to replace Dr. Chris Ngige, now a Minister. It is part of the impunity in the country where public officers do whatever they likeand get away with it.
The case of Anambra state senatorial election presents a scenario similar to when the former President, Alhaji Umaru Y’adua was terminally ill and the northern cabal prevented the vice president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan from assuming the position of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria. The political logjam created leadership vacuum which threw the country at the edge of a precipice. The senate in exasperation invoked the “Doctrine of Necessity” which enabled the vice president to become the president.
Mr. Onwubiko, an author and public affairs analyst, wrote via [email protected], Awka Anambra state