Factional Reps-elect from Anambra stage protest at INEC hqts

Some members-elect of the House of Representatives from Anambra State, on Wednesday, stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abuja, where they staged a protest carrying various placards.

They demanded that INEC should issue them certificates of return without any further delay.

The members-elect maintained that withholding the certificates was disobedience to court order.

The protesters insisted that the members currently representing Anambra State in the lower arm of the National Assembly are doing so illegally.

They accused the Commission of partisanship in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership tussle in the state.

Those who stormed the Commission’s office located in Zambezi Street, Maitama, Abuja, were; Emmanuel Nweke; Benedict Obaze; Anthony Offiah; Charles Odedo; Princess Ifeyinwa Anazonwu; Uchenna Obi; Ejike Nwene and Julius Oforma.

They arrived the INEC’s headquarters around 9am but were informed ‎that neither the Commission’s Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu nor any of the national commissioner had resumed work for the day.

The spokesperson of the group, Mr. Anthony Offiah‎, while speaking during the protest said, “We entreat the Chairman of INEC to comply with the decision of the Supreme Court which restored the Federal High Court judgement and issue us our certificates of return.

“We are the beneficiaries of this judgement of the Federal High Court which has now been affirmed by the Supreme Court”, Offiah‎ added.

He noted with regrets that several letters written to the commission to give them certificate of returns, after the Supreme Court threw away INEC’s suit, fell on deaf ears.

While giving insight into the PDP leadership crisis in Anambra State, Offiah recalled that in December 5, 2014 a Federal High Court presided over by Justice E.S Chukwu gave a judgement in their favour which ordered PDP and INEC to “recognise and deal with our party chairman and his executives in all matters pertaining to elections in the state as contained in the party’s constitution”.

According to the protesters, “only the list of candidates who emerged from the party primaries in which this executive participated in must be recognised by both PDP and INEC.

“INEC, despite our protestation that we have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court in Appeal No: SC.37/2015, went ahead and substituted our names with theirs, sometime in February 2015, long after the stipulated date allowed for substitution.

“Our appeal at the Supreme Court was decided on 29th January, 2016, and the appeal succeeded, setting aside the decision of the court of appeal and upholding the judgement of the Federal High Court.

“We wrote INEC requesting them to comply with the decision of the Supreme Court that upheld the earlier judgment of the Federal High Court which brought out names in.”

Two Assistant Directors (Security) from INEC, who met with the protesters, appealed for calm, urging that their requests would be conveyed to the leadership of the commission.