Onyejiocha fighting personal, proxy war against our party – LP

 

Chigozie Ikpo, Abuja

The Labour Party (LP) has accused the Honorable Minister of State for Labour, Nkiru Onyejiocha of plotting to pull down the party by all means, through the help of the Lamidi Apapa-led faction who have since been expelled from the party.

 

In a statement on Wednesday, the National Youth Leader of the party, Prince Kennedy Ahanotu alleged that Onyejiocha who had been in the National Assembly since 2007 but lost her seat to the Labour Party candidate, Amobi Ogah, has sworn to go to any length to ensure that she upturn the election.

 

Ahanotu said Onyejiocha’s ambition of becoming Speaker of House of Representatives was ruined by the loss to Ogah, so she decided to not only use her influence to reclaim her seat, but to also destroy the party by forming “an unholy alliance” with Apapa to sustain the crisis within the party.

 

He said “One may begin to wonder what connects the Minister of States for Labour, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejeocha and the Labour Party that she will go at length to instigate and fund crisis within the party. We are however aware that the former lawmaker is fighting a personal and proxy war against the party.

 

“Onyejeocha has been in the national assembly since 2007 untill the February 25 general election when she was defeated by Hon. Amobi Ogah with a very wide margin. Her lost to Amobi Ogah was a pill too hard to swallow hence she has vowed to use all her connections to ensure that the election declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is upturned in her favour.

 

Her political ambition was to be the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives. She has also boasted that powers that be in Aso Rock has promised her the speakership, a position she contested in 2019 but lost to Femi Gbajabiamila, who now is the Chief of Staff in the Tinubu administration.

 

“Onyejeocha believes that the Isikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency is her fiefdom, however the result of that election altered all the plans and permutation for Onyejeocha who saw her ambition drifting. For her to be the Speaker she must first win the seat at the Reps and Amobi Ogah was the only stumbling block. Therefore, he must go at all cost.” he said

 

Ahanotu accused Onyejiocha succeeded at the Tribunal because the court decided to cancel the votes of the LP candidate, but that the Supreme Court gives the party exclusive powers to determine who it’s members are and expressed optimism that it will be overturned.

 

He accused her of plotting with the Apapa faction, using a Federal High Court in Kano, to sack all the elected political office holders from Abia state, including the Governor, a move which was successful, but upturned by the Appeal Court, and also trying to influence the ongoing appeal in Lagos for Ogah’s seat.

 

“Hon Onyejeocha after the ruling of the Tribunal was appealed against and the venue of the sitting moved to Lagos, also initiated a crisis by using her Aso Rock connections to bully officials of INEC into committing a mortal mistake of pitching two Senior Advocates and legal luminaries, J.O Asoluka (SAN) and Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN) against each other in an open court on who holds the authourity to represent INEC.

 

“Specifically on the 11th of October, 2023, the INEC Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony in a letter titled LETTER OF INSTRUCTION conveyed the appointment of John Asoluka (SAN) by INEC to file an appeal at the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division on behalf of the Commission against the decision of the Abia State National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in  No. EPT/AB/HR/8/2023 — HON. NKEIRUKA CHIDUBEM ONYEJEOCHA & ANOR VS. INEC & 2 ORS.

 

“But in a twist of event, INEC went further to engage the services of Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN) on thesame matter before the Appeal Court. We sincerely believe that INEC was everything but independent as the commission acted helplessly and as a body being dictated to by unseen forces.

 

“However, Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN) on the 17th of October in a letter to the Commission wrote to withdraw his representation in the two appeals before the Court of Appeal on the ground that “the Commission had already briefed another law firm to represent/or defend it.”

 

“On the following day at the commencement of the matter before the Appeal Court, a lawyer from the firm of Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN) unknown to the Senior Counsel surfaced even when the Asoluka and his team were already seated to represent the INEC. The desperation by the lawyers from the firm of Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN) to insist on representing INEC even when the firm had already written to INEC withdrawing its services stoke our curiousness, even as the embarrassed Ustaz Usman completely distanced himself from actions not known to him.

 

“On further investigation, we realized that INEC failed to release this letter written on the 17th by the firm of Yunus Ustaz Usman (SAN) withdrawing from the case. The letter only surfaced after the unfortunate incident at the Appeal Court. So we are wondering if there was any threat from high places against officials of the INEC preventing them from making the letter public.” he said

 

Ahanotu said Onyejiocha’s alliance with Apapa saw him appear at the Court of Appeal, Lagos, attempting to hijack their case, but that the court should ignore their theatrics and do justice to their matter by overturning the judgment of the Abia State Tribunal.

 

“We are worried that millions of Naira was allegedly budgeted by Onyejeocha to sustain the crisis in the Labour Party by funding Apapa and his cohorts, and particularly to ensure that Amobi Ogah is removed from the House of Representatives. These monies which ought to be channeled to help alleviate scorching poverty in her Constituency is been thrown around all in her inordinate quest for power.

 

“We are therefore calling on the present government to relieve Onyejeocha of her ministerial role as she has lost focus, and since she has refused to concentrate on the assignment given to her.

 

“We also urge security agencies including Police, DSS, EFCC and ICPC to invite Onyejeocha for questioning over her role in funding insurrection in the Labour Party, bullying of INEC staffers, manipulating the judiciary and also helping to stoke political crisis in Nigeria.” Ahanotu said