Victor Umeh has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name of Charles Soludo as the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate in Anambra, accusing the electoral body of tormenting the party with a court judgment now set aside.
Mr Umeh, a former APGA national chairman, made the call on Tuesday during an interactive session with journalists in Awka.
He was reacting to the judgment of the Appeal Court in Kano, which restored Mr Soludo as APGA’s governorship candidate in the November 6 election.
The ex-APGA chairman argued that INEC should have published his name with the legal battle against his candidacy now decided in his favour to enable his campaign to kick off in earnest.
Mr Umeh, a member of the Soludo Campaign Organisation, noted that the judgment also affirmed that Victor Oye remains the authentic national chairman of the party and not Jude Okeke.
“We were convinced that the high court judgment of Burnin Kudu in Jigawa should have been a nullity, but some people, including INEC, used it to torment us,” said Mr Umeh. “With this, the judiciary has redeemed itself. It has also shown that it is the hope of the people. Nothing in that judgment in Jigawa should be allowed to be alive. The attempt was simply to derail the momentum of APGA, but the judiciary has intervened.”
He called on the Anambra electorate to understand why they should vote for APGA in the election.
“We have solid achievements here in the state, and I do not see why any sensible person would want to vote out APGA,” explained Mr Umeh. “APGA may not have made everybody happy, but I can score APGA up to 85 per cent.”
He said the party had not failed the state, citing some of its achievements, including the Anambra Airport, billed to begin commercial flight next month.
