‘No Legal Dispute against Eno as Akwa Ibom PDP Guber Candidate’

Okon Bassey in Uyo

Ahead of the March 11, 2023 governorship election, the  former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in Akwa Ibom State, Uwemedimo Nwoko, SAN, has said the status of Pastor Umo Eno as the authentic candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state is not in dispute.

According to him, only mischievous elements without sound legal knowledge and background can peddle the falsehood that Pastor Eno had not been cleared as the candidate of the PDP for the election.

The ex-Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice gave the clarification while fielding questions from journalists in Uyo.

Barrister  Nwoko, who is the Head of the Legal Team of the PDP governorship candidate in the state maintained that the Court of Appeal had made a final pronouncement on the matter in respect of the Michael Enyong case while the Supreme Court rested the matter in respect of Akan Okon’s case.

“At the moment, there is no court process filed against our client before us. So, all the court cases concerning Umo Eno’s candidature, the final decisions have been made, and there is no dispute as to that again.

 “If you visit INEC website now, you would find out the final correction that was field by INEC as regards Umo Eno, where his name was restored and INEC went as far as putting that it is by the order of Court that his name was restored on the INEC platform.

“It was wrong for INEC to have even contemplated replacing Pastor Umo Eno’s name on their website and I confronted them through a letter and they discovered their error. That is why they quickly corrected their error. “Umo Eno was already seated as candidate of the PDP, and then this mischievous judgement by the Federal High Court came in. In fact  that was why the Court of Appeal was very angry with the judgement of that High Court and awarded a punitive cost of N1 million against Mike Enyong.

“The Court held that this matter ought not to have come to any court again, having been decided by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. So, the cost awarded was to serve as deterrent to the person (Mike Enyong) and others who might want to toe the same line,”, he stated.

Nwoko said the federal lawmaker (Mike Enyong) had secured an ex-parte order of the court on the 20th of February, 2023, restraining the police from arresting him, saying the order which has a seven-day lifespan had elapsed, with Mike Enyong again declared wanted by the Police.

He stressed that a case of multiple forgery against Mike Enyong wasstill pending in the FCT High Court, Abuja and the PDP who is the complainant in the case has been granted leave to be joined in the matter.

“Mike Enyong has been declared wanted by the police. There is a valid warrant of arrest signed by a Magistrate. PDP is now a party to that suit, because he mischievously filed that suit raising the issue that PDP brought before the police and left out PDP in the suit.”