By Ken Eluma Asogwa,

In my March 4th, 2023 opinion article on the Enugu Guber election, I was very categorical in stating that Peter Mbah would not be governor of Enugu State.

First, I was firm in my conviction that he would lose the election to Hon. Chijioke Edeoga of the Labour Party. I hinged my reason on the soaring image of Edeoga which at the time already commanded statewide appeal. I was right because Edeoga eventually won, though some centrifugal forces congregated in Abuja and conspired amongst themselves to delay the victory.

Second, I also argued that in the unlikely event that Mbah won, he would not be governor of Enugu State because he submitted a forged NYSC Discharge Certificate to INEC. It is this latter position that the present discourse will centre on.

Hear me again !
Peter Mbah will be sacked by the Enugu Tribunal. And even if he survives the Tribunal’s hammer, the Supreme Court will definitely axe him.
Reason? He parades a forged NYSC Discharge Certificate !
This thing is as clear as broad daylight.

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To be clear, I am not oblivious to the concerns and discontents people have about the Nigerian judiciary. I must concede that those reservations are not unfounded. I reckon with the fears of people who saw a certain Ahmed Lawan become a candidate of a political party in an election primary he did not participate in. I also would not close my eyes to the injustice that ensured that someone who came a distant 4th in a governorship election was thereafter catapulted to number one by the court. Need I talk about how Akpabio became a senator in 2023 and eventually rose to become the Senate President?

All the above instances happened under the watch and with the active complicity of the Supreme Court. It’s the combined effects of the above factors that have made some naysayers conclude that it’s not yet Uhuru for Edeoga and the Enugu Labour Party. While I acknowledge the reality of the above apprehensions, the good news is that Peter Mbah’s case will be treated differently for a number of reasons.

One, Nigeria is presently torn between allowing Peter Mbah to remain as a governor and sustaining the NYSC Scheme. One must give way for the other to remain in place. Unfortunately for Mbah, his case has one leg of it that threatens the existence of an institution of the Nigerian State, the NYSC. The NYSC has proven beyond a reasonable doubt in the Enugu Tribunal that the certificate Mbah parades were not issued by them. So, Mbah’s continued stay in office is an affront to the Constitution, the grundnorm of our laws. He has become a moral burden on the Nigerian State and I am certain the judiciary will offload him.

Two, Peter Mbah’s defeat at the poll was so overwhelming that the persons who helped him in Owo and Ugbawka to produce the wonder votes could not cover their tracks well. They left lots and lots of evidence in their trail that cannot be wished away by the judiciary. Edeoga’s team was able to piece these pieces of evidence together and made a very sound presentation at the Tribunal.

Three, like the Biblical Saul, the people who conspired to foist Peter Mbah on Enugu people, at some point in the course of the hearing at the Tribunal, decided to clean out their closets. Unlike Hope Uzodinma’s case wherein INEC’s submissions helped Gov. Uzodinma, INEC’s testimony at the Enugu Tribunal appeared like the confessions of a Born Again Christian who suddenly decided to confess his sins after an encounter with Christ. INEC, the chief culprit in the Enugu electoral heist, literally became a hostile witness to Mbah at the Tribunal. While I may be reluctant in x-raying the reasons for their sudden volte-face, what is however important is that INEC largely agreed with the submissions of the Labour Party at the Tribunal.

Fourth, the political permutations and power play at the centre, most of which involve the powers that be at the highest level of governance in Nigeria, would consume Peter Mbah. Without prejudice to the exclusive powers of the judiciary to determine Mbah’s fate, I know for a fact that the ongoing discussions amongst those who control the levers of power are seriously weighing against Mbah.

Five, in Oyetola vs. Adeleke, the Supreme Court recently held that it’s only the issuing authority of a certificate that has the sole authority, to the exclusion of any other authority or entity, to validate or repudiate the certificate issued by that authority. Peter Mbah and his coterie of lawyers knew this and that was why they did everything to stop NYSC from coming to testify at the Enugu Tribunal.

Unfortunately for Mbah, the NYSC was able to dismantle all the legal bottlenecks put in their way of appearing at the Tribunal. It was when it dawned on Mbah that NYSC was coming to testify that he ran to the DSS in search of elusive cover. Unfortunately for him, the DSS’ evidence is too watery to be given any probative value by the Tribunal.

While I would refrain from going into the conversation around the authenticity of the DSS agent who testified at the Tribunal, especially against the background of the allegation that the so-called agent answered a name that is not contained in the Secret Service’s staff directory, one thing that is certain is that the Supreme Court will not overrule its recent judgement on Osun election in the Enugu case.

Therefore, as Peter Mbah begins to wind down his short-lived administration, my advice for him is to curtail the number of queries that might be coming his way when the immunity cloak falls off. Already, there are reports of mindless looting and plundering of Enugu State resources in a bid to recover electoral expenses before the hammer falls. Mbah should remember that he would be answering to a case of certificate forgery when the immunity evaporates and cannot afford to have EFCC come after him in addition to the forgery case.

Asogwa, a lawyer and foreign relations expert, is the CEO of Afri Forecasts and can be reached via k.e.asogwa@afriforecasts.com

The Labour Party (LP) has described the local government election conducted in Edo state as a “mockery of democracy”.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won all 18 chairperson positions in Saturday’s election.

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The election was conducted by the State Independent Electoral Commission (ESIEC) in Edo north, Edo central and Edo south senatorial districts.

Obiora Ifoh, LP national publicity secretary, in a statement on Sunday, called for the conduct of new LG polls in the state.

The LP alleged that electoral officers came late or did not show up at all in some polling units, adding that in some places where the election held, insufficient ballot papers were brought.

“Reports from our agents across most of the polling units in the state confirmed that there were deliberate effort by the EDSIEC to frustrate voters by ensuring that the electoral officers either came late to the polling units or didn’t show up at all,” the statement reads.

“In few places where the election held, insufficient ballot papers were brought with no single result sheet. But at the end of the day, results were churned out with the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party returning elected.

“Edo people and Nigerians deserve the best to represent them in government. What happened in Edo state was a mockery of democracy and such must not be allowed to stand.

“We therefore call on the state government to also condemn the charade that happened on Saturday, denounce the outcome and call for a fresh and credible election.”

The LP also called on the national assembly to scrap State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) across the country.

The party said the conduct of LG elections should be entrusted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for proper management.

“State Independent Electoral Commissions across Nigeria have failed to help democracy grow. They are purely appendages of the states government and there is nothing independent in them,” the statement reads.

‘We therefore call on the national assembly to scrap the commission and entrust the conduct of the local government elections on the Independent National Electoral Commission for proper management.

“State Independent Electoral Commission has become an embarrassment to democracy in Nigeria. It is therefore time to scrap them so as to restore sanity in our grassroot politics.”

The much-anticipated verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPT) is expected to be delivered on Wednesday, September 6th.

The Court of Appeal Registrar Umar Bangari confirmed this to Channels Television on Monday, saying the proceedings will be open to live broadcast by interested television stations.

The Labour Party (LP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), as well as their presidential candidates, had petitioned the tribunal seeking to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 presidential election.

Judgement is also expected to be delivered by election tribunals in 25 states for governorship, National Assembly, and state assembly election petitions.

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The results of the polls announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are being contested in no fewer than 25 states out of the 28 states where elections were conducted.

Southeast members of the rulling All Progressives Congress in the federal capital territory, Abuja, have unanimously passed a vote of confidence on the leadership of the forum under Chief Samuel Okechukwu Agu.

The confidence vote was passed by members of the forum across the Six Area Councils of the territory during their meeting in Gwagwalada over the weekend.

Pictorials from the meeting 

The vote of confidence on Chief Agu led administration was as a result of a letter signed by the former vice Chairman of Abuja municipal area Council, Mr. Lawrence Onochukwu claiming that Chief Samuel Okechukwu Agu was removed as FCT Chairman of the forum.

The unanimous decision of members of the forum affirmed that Chief Agu remains the authentic FCT Chairman of the APC South-East forum and advised anyone claiming otherwise to desist henceforth.

They said Agu’s enormous efforts in projecting activities of the party before, during and after elections in the territory earned him their support.

According to them, the rumour in circulation that Agu has been removed was false, and is aimed at misleading other members of APC especially in FCT, who are not familiar with the development.

Matthew Orji, member of the forum and Senior Special Assistant on Religious Matters to the chairman Gwagwalada Area Council, said the vote of confidence will prove the ability of Chief Agu in leading supporters of the party.

“This is clear manifestation of Agu’s enormous effort to projecting APC well for South East members in the Federal Capital Territory” he said.

The Chairman, Chief Okechukwu Agu Speaking

Reacting to the development, Chief Okechukwu Agu who could not hide his joy over the solidarity, appreciated members for their support, describing it as a result of his Open door policy since he became the leader.

Agu promised that the doors of the FCT APC South-East forum will continue to remain wide open for new members especially to those who went to other political parties before the general elections.

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Agu, also urged the leadership of the Federal Capital Territory under the present Minister, Nyesom Wike and other stakeholders to consider the forum when the need arises for appointments and ensure that any slot for the forum gets to the right people.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the meeting, some of the Area Council Chairmen bared their minds on the leadership of Mr. Agu and promised to garner more support for him to succeed.

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They however extolled the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and assured of the forum’s partnership for a better and prosperous Nigeria.

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has relocated the office of his estranged deputy Philip Shaibu outside the Government House Complex, Benin as their relationship takes a turn for the worse.

Shaibu, who was physically stopped by Obaseki’s security aides from exchanging greetings with the governor at a church service last Sunday, will now operate from a building formerly used by the State Public Procurement Office in Benin.

The building is located at 7 Dennis Osadebey Avenue, a short distance from the deputy governor’s former office in the Government House.

It was undergoing renovation yesterday with a signpost newly erected putside the gate.

The signpost carries the inscription “Office of the Deputy Governor, NO 7, Dennis Osadebey Avenue, GRA, Benin City.”

The building was commissioned on December 16,2014 by the then Governor Adams Oshiomhole.

Contacted yesterday by phone on the development, Communication and Orientation Commissioner Chris Nehikhare said: “If there is Edo State government’s signboard at the entrance, stating that the new building is now the office of the deputy governor of the state, then it must be so.”

Twenty four hours after last Sunday’s showdown in the church, the state government disbanded Shaibu’s media crew after the deputy governor walked out of a colloquim organized by government.

He claimed that his media aides were prevented from accessing the event with him.

The DG is currently in court over allegation that his principal wants to get him impeached with the aid of ethe state House of Assembly.

Obaseki and the Assembly have denied the allegation.

The governor accused Shaibu of planning a coup against him, but Edo deputy governor insisted that he remained loyal to the governor.