2023: Group Endorses Peter Obi, Izunaso, Chikwem, Others
Amby Uneze in Owerri
A group of opinion moulders in Imo State, the Save Imo has has endorsed the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi as one that would win the February 25, presidential election in the country.
Speaking at an event in Owerri, the founder of the group, Ebubeagu Ekenulo said he also endorsed the candidates for the Imo West senatorial candidate, Osita Izunaso of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the House of representative candidate of LP in Okigwe North federal constituency, Chikwem Onuoha, the APC candidates for Okigwe South federal constituency, Chike Okafor, and LP candidate for Ideato federal constituency, Paschal Obi among others.
The guest lecturer at the event and a fellow and visiting scholar at Human Rights Institute, Columbia University, New York, Prof. Nnamdi Obiaraeri, counseled politicians seeking elective offices to be mindful and conversant with all the relevant electoral laws to avoid legal infractions and attendant sanctions, including judicial disqualifications.
He mentioned the laws, such as the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended; the Electoral Act 2022; the political party constitutions and observance of the supremacy of political parties since they constitute the foundation of the success of the candidates.
Obiaraeri, a professor in Law, and former Dean of Law, Faculty of Law, Imo State University, Owerri, gave the advice in a 32 – page paper entitled: “Role of the Judiciary in the Electoral Process in Nigeria- Myths and Realities.”
He commended Ekenulo for leading the non-governmental body which peacefully assessed and singled some candidates among others from various political leanings irrespective of their political affiliations.
He noted that the parameters of any candidate to achieve before indicating interest to contest any political elective office included integrity, capacity, competence, philanthropy, selflessness, grass roots viability, popularity, and fear of God.
According to him, candidates and electorate should be knowledgeable on the pre and post elections legal procedures, stressing that in a legal tussle, there must be a winner and a loser, advising that the loser should learn to accept defeat.
Obiaraeri maintained that judgments given by the justices were different from Justice, adding that this must be understood in the minds of the public.
He said: “If you lose, please congratulate the winner. Please feel free to congratulate your opponent. Let there be less acrimonious. A judgment is different from Justice. A court can give a judgment, but not justice…There is a difference between judgment and justice. A judge is entitled to make a mistake, but what the judge is not entitled to is to bend the law. You must obey the judgment of the court.”
According to him, if the politicians fail to take their opponents to court, the judges would not rule on any matter, it is the politicians that attract the wrath of the courts to give judgment to either way.
In his speech, Ekenulo said the essence of the exercise was purely democratic after a painstaking work that took years, months and weeks, adding that the endorsed persons across party lines would help the electorate build and make their informed choices.
In their responses, Ozumba, who represented Izunaso, Onuoha, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), candidate for Obowo constituency, Ebere Ugo, said they were pleased to be associated with the initiative of the non-governmental body that used its modus operandi, to move the electoral space forward.
