By Dr Tom Ohikere
Just on Friday, Kogi State embattled former deputy governor, Simon Achuba was successfully impeached by the kogi state house of assembly on grounds of gross misconduct and abuse of office, paving the way for Chief Edward Onoja, the former chief of staff to the governor and currently the governor’s running mate in the November, 16 th governorship election in the state, to become the deputy governor.
While the APC in Kogi State, the party which both the impeached deputy governor and the new deputy governor belong seems not to be ruffed by the development, as it has long been expected, given the soaring popularity of Chief Edward Onoja, and the fading into political obscurity of Simon Achuba, as a result of his squabble with the incumbent Governor Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
But the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in their desperate search for relevance and a straw to cling on to in their free fall in the hope of resuscitating a feeble and dying campaign in the lead up to the election’s D-day, have jumped headlong into the issue, which in their strategic calculation is significant enough to whip up public sentiments against the Bello administration and shore up their support base.
According to Kola Ologbondiyan, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, “This action of trying to remove the deputy governor via unconstitutional methods and in total disregard to the verdict of the judicial panel is, in itself, a gross misconduct and grave constitutional violation for which the State Assembly, as an institution, ought to have removed Yahaya Bello as the governor of the state’.
For if that was what they intended, the outcome was to prove a propaganda fiasco for them. CEDO as Onoja is popularly referred to, was scheduled to be sworn in today but according to the PDP propagandists, the action of the House of Assembly was unconstitutional as they alleged that the suppose panel set up by the chief justice of the state to investigate the issues raised against Mr Simon Achuba had exonerated him before he was eventually impeached by the house.
The PDP media circle in their outrageous speculations and noise making, even averred that there was no possibility of Edward Onoja being inaugurated, as most of the judges in state are scared of getting sanctioned by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for acts considered to run contrary to the letters and provisions of the Constitution.
That the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Nasir Ajanah is an adherent to the spirit and letters of the Constitution and it has been difficult for the state government to approach him to administer the oath on Onoja.
Adding, that some political forces were shopping for either an amenable judge or the President of the Customary Court to swear in the new Deputy Governor. Their propaganda machine even went as far as saying that neither the State House of Assembly nor Governor Bello had notified the Chief Judge as at Sunday of the removal of Mr Achuba. That the APC was planning to inaugurate Onoja without the Chief Judge.
But to their discomfiture and dismay, Edward Onoja was comfortably sworn today, by the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Nasir Ajanah, and also in attendance was the Grand Khadi of the state, Abdulkareem Aruwa.
What this shows is that their criticism does not carry the weight and force of the law and that APC is a party of due process and that there is unanimity in our rank.
Instead of them to focus on their internal troubles, they are pursuing a lost cause as a distraction from their many recent woes.
This once again proves that the APC is not a party of impunity like the opposition, PDP. History tells us that the PDP in 2012 circumvented due process, when the Supreme Court ruled that the tenure of Ex Governor Ibrahim Idris and that of four other state governors had expired in May 29 of the preceding year.
That they should immediately hand over to speakers of their various state assemblies.But in Kogi State the President of the Customary Court of Appeal was quickly railroaded into swearing in Governor-elect Idris Wada as successor to ousted Governor Ibrahim Idris after the chief judge had refused to swear in Mr. Wada, saying he should be given time to understand the Supreme Court judgment.
So the APC is a party of law and due respect of constitutionality. So the PDP in Kogi state should know that these are omens, that it is now clear that November 16, for GYB and CEDO has the mandate of heaven.
Dr Tom Ohikere is the Secretary Of The Media and publicity Committee Of The Kogi State APC 2019 Election Campaign Council
