An Expulsion Taken Too Far in Ebonyi APC

The expulsion of Mrs. Ann Agom-Eze from the All Progressives Congress by the Ebonyi State leadership of the party shows the level of intolerance of opposing views by Governor David Umahi and his desperation to emerge as Ebonyi South senatorial candidate in the 2023 election, Vanessa Obioha writes 

The Ebonyi South Senatorial Zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC) played the script of Governor Dave Umahi when it expelled Mrs. Ann Agom-Eze from the party over alleged rebellious and unruly behaviour. The Chairman of the party in the state, Stanley Okoro-Emegha made this known in a statement issued in Abakaliki.

Mrs. Agom-Eze was Umahi’s main challenger for the Ebonyi South senatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 polls. On July 22, a Federal High Court in Abakaliki ordered a rerun of the senatorial primary election after one of the contenders, the governor’s younger brother, Austin Umahi, withdrew from the race. After the court judgment, APC conducted a fresh primary election on July 31 where the Ebonyi State governor emerged as the winner.

 Okoro-Emegha stated that Agom-Eze rebelliously jeopardised her membership by violating APC’s Constitution which prohibits any act of dishonesty capable of disparaging the party or its member(s). He added that Agom-Eze was initially expelled by the ward executives of APC in her Umudomi Ward in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi. He stated also that the APC would convincingly deliver all its candidates including Governor Umahi at the 2023 general election.

  “The chairman of APC, Ebonyi South Zone, Mr. Ernest Nwazi through a motion, expelled Agom-Eze from the party citing rebellious and unruly behaviour. The chairman stated also that she fundamentally violated some sections of the party’s Constitution,’’ he stated.

 However, her ward has since described the suspension as false.

Deputy Chairman of Umudomi Ward was said to be the person that purportedly signed her suspension letter without recourse to the Chairman of the Ward, Ogboji John Ogbonnaya.

In a statement signed by the Chairman of APC, Umudomi Ward, in Onicha Local Government Area, Ebonyi State,  Ogboji John Ogbonnaya, the leadership of the Ward explained that “Since the matter is in the Appeal Court and we have received an Appeal Court injunction to that effect. Hence, restraining us from suspending anybody until the Court determined.”

 Ogboji said: “The attention of the APC, Umudomi Ward, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has been drawn to a purported suspension/expulsion of Princess Ann Nwanyibuife Agom-Eze from the party at the Ward level. I want to use this medium to categorically state that the rumours of her suspension/expulsion are all false as such has never happened in Umudomi Ward. I hereby urge the general public to disregard such rumour as Umudomi Ward of the APC are peace loving people.” 

Trouble started for Mrs. Agom-Eze when the APC recently announced that Governor Umahi had won the rerun of the primary for Ebonyi South senatorial district, after defeating his younger brother, Austin and three other contestants.

 The leader of APC’s national committee for the primary, Emmanuel Adebayo, declared the governor winner at the end of the exercise held at the Afikpo North Local Government Council headquarters. He announced that the governor won the contest with 250 votes while his younger brother, Austin polled 10 votes.

 At the May 28, 2022 primary conducted in the state and monitored by the electoral commission, the governor’s younger brother, Austin Umahi, was declared the winner.

When the first primary was held, the governor was still seeking to be the APC’s presidential candidate. After losing the APC presidential ticket, the state chapter of the APC cancelled the earlier primary and rescheduled another one held at the Afikpo North Local Government Council, where the governor reportedly won unopposed.

 This prompted Agom-Eze to fault Austin’s withdrawal from the race, arguing that if he decided to withdraw from the race, the APC ticket for Ebonyi South Senatorial District should have been given to her who came second in the primary.

 But the APC then quickly conducted another primary without including the name of the runner-up in the first primary after Austin withdrew from the race and gave the ticket to Governor Umahi.

Amid the controversy Governor Umahi filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abakaliki against the electoral body, seeking to be declared the candidate of the party for the senatorial zone. Agom-Eze filed a joint application to join the suit.

 Governor Umahi’s counsel, Roy Umahi, asked the court to compel the commission to recognise the governor as the authentic candidate for Ebonyi South Senatorial District. He argued that the governor should be recognised as the senatorial candidate by INEC after the initial winner had withdrawn and another primary conducted.

 In his reaction, the counsel to Agom-Eze, Nwonu Nnaemeka, said upon the withdrawal of Austin from the primary election, her client should have claimed all her rights as regards the exercise, being the second runner-up.

 In his judgment, Justice Fatun Riman struck out the suit. He held that the APC erred in conducting another primary without, including the name of the runner-up in the first primary after the winner of the first primary withdrew from the race.

 Even though Justice Riman ruled that INEC was right in rejecting the governor’s name as candidate of the party, he, however, held that APC cannot conduct a valid second primary without including the name of Agom-Eze who came second in the first primary. He further urged the party to conduct another primary election within 14 days.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, Agom-Eze proceeded to the Court of Appeal where her appeal was pending. She also filed an application praying the court to stay the execution of part of the judgment of the lower court relating to the conduct of a fresh senatorial primary election pending the hearing and determination of the appeal.

According to court processes filed by her lawyers, Agom-Eze raised four grounds of appeal against the lower court’s ruling even as she asked the court for 12 reliefs. The senatorial aspirant in her submission disagreed with the lower court wherein it ordered that fresh contestants/aspirants are allowed to participate or take part in the fresh primary election ordered by the court to take place within 14 days.

 When a fresh primary was held recently, Agom-Eze, in a statement, said she stayed away because there was an appeal and stay of execution on the matter. This was as she said she could not be part of a premeditated exercise, which she noted, would be marred with irregularities.

  “Waking up this morning, I was going through my messages and I stumbled on where someone was talking about primaries at Afikpo. I am not going to be part of it because the authentic Ebonyi South Senatorial primaries happened on May 28, 2022, and it is still subsisting.

 “This is because the judgment delivered at the Federal High Court Abakaliki on July 22, 2022, was not totally in our favour and we had to appeal the part of the judgment that allowed for fresh primaries to accommodate strangers to the process since July 26, 2022. We also filed a motion for stay of execution and injunction pending appeal.

 “All the relevant bodies were served: INEC, our party, APC and the first plaintiff since July 27 and 28, 2022. Until the determination of the appeal, I believe there should be no other primary as the matter is subjudice and the rule is that all the parties must stay actions on the matter. We also wrote letters to INEC and our great party urging them to observe the rules pending the determination of the appeal.

“I’m looking forward to the judgment of the Court of Appeal as a law-abiding citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I am confident that the court will do justice,” she said.

While Umahi did not see anything wrong with his victory since it was a competent court that ordered the APC to conduct another primary election within 14 days, the judgment delivered by Justice Riman has however come under scrutiny with some analysts questioning why the judge failed to recognise and declare Agom-Eze as the candidate of APC since her second-highest number of valid votes cast in the first primary was still subsisting following the withdrawal of Austin Umahi from the race.

They further faulted the judge for wrongly applying Section 33 of the Electoral Act 2022 by ordering a fresh primary election for Ebonyi South Senatorial District within 14 days knowing full well that when the winner in a primary election dies, withdraws or resigns, it is the person with the second highest votes that takes over.

 Many analysts did not disagree with the judge for ordering that fresh contestants/aspirants be allowed to participate or take part in the fresh primary. They also argued that the lower court was wrong to order the APC to admit Governor Umahi and other fresh contestants/aspirants who did not participate in the first primaries held on May 28, 2022, especially when the time allowed for the nomination of candidates under the Electoral Act, 2022 had elapsed.

Many observers in the state are surprised at APC’s action, describing it as the height of high-handedness. They wonder why the leadership of the party would descend so low to please Governor Umahi. They also accused the party’s leadership of being insensitive to Mrs. Agom-Eze and for not being sympathetic to her over her condition.