Akwa Ibom: Akpabio’s tribunal triumph and burden of democracy dividends
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At a time most other governors are either falling by the wayside or are holding their breath in awe of what would come out of the electoral tribunals around the states, the news of a sweeping at the tribunal in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State must be cheering to those in the corridors of power.
It would also be regarded as a huge achievement by Governor Godswill Akpabio who took over from Victor Attah who held sway for eight uninterrupted years or by any governor to receive the kind of judicial endorsement that Akpabio has received few days back.
In the past, victory at the polls was all that mattered, while the tribunals were regarded as mere formality. Not anymore, after Chris Ngige left midway in Anambra, Andy Ubah followed him few months ago, Celestine Omehia was shoved off in nearby Rivers State, and others were ordered back to the polls in Kwara, Kebbi and Enugu. Many more are feared to be on the line too.
Now, with President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua bent on allowing the courts and tribunals do their job uninterrupted, the judges seem to have found a new verve, and victories are turning blue. The tyranny of the judges, if it can be called so, is here and the fear of the judge seems to be the beginning of political wisdom in Nigeria today.
In the states, most political appointees and government officials can now be seen exercising maximum caution in how to throw their weights around, else the bug bites. It is mow easy to find such officials asking their followers not to ask for too much “until the tribunal case is over”.
The beauty of the new era could be the fact that an election is not complete until the tribunals and courts say so, and that length of time wasted would remove nothing from the outcome of any court case. It is now also a matter of note in the states that the verdict of one level does not necessarily mean the end of justice.
In most states now, persons in comfortable jobs hardly throw them away to grab political appointments. Caution seems to be the word in such matters, “until the tribunal case is over”, they often say. In the past, they would rush for the grab because the state governors felt they knew how to fix everything. Now, no one seems to be sure anymore.
It is within this context that many observers view the victory in Uyo and the clean bill given to Akpabio to move on with actual governance as a serious development. This adds more to the treacherous road Akpabio treaded upon to eventually clinch the nomination ticket of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
When he eventually won the election, the Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate, James Iniama, cried foul and went to the tribunal. This was against the backdrop of outcry nationwide about massive election rigging. But the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Uyo, seemed to tear through the veil of allegations.
Chairman of the tribunal, Nasir Ajanah while delivering judgment last Saturday on the petition said all the issues raised by the petitioner lacked merit and could not be substantiated in law.
He accordingly struck out the petition and held that the first respondent, Akpabio was duly elected and returned as the winner of the April 14 elections.
The petitioner had urged the tribunal to order a fresh election based on the grounds that Akpabio was not qualified to contest the elections having been indicted by a commission of enquiry set up the Abia State government.
Iniama had also told the tribunal that he was excluded from taking
part in the April 14 elections while he claimed the election was marred by irregularities following vote rigging and illegal thumb printing.
But in his ruling, Ajanah who headed the five-member election tribunal held that the administrative commission of enquiry was improperly constituted as it was not headed by a judicial officer, contrary to the 1999 constitution.
According to the tribunal, a governor can only institute a commission of enquiry on matters after his state, adding that the petitioner had failed to prove that Akpabio had any business transaction in Abia State that warranted the indictment. He said no specific indictment was tied to the white paper issued by the commission of enquiry.
On the issue of exclusion from taking part in the election as pleaded by the petition, the tribunal held that Iniama actually took part in the
election as votes were recorded for him, adding that the fact that his photograph was not on the ballot paper could not be regarded as exclusion.
The tribunal also dismissed the issue of irregularities and rigging and held that the election was conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act 2006 as electoral officials including presiding officers, returning officers and polling clerks took part in the conduct of the election.
He accordingly held that Akpabio was duly elected and returned as the winner of the April 14 elections.
In his reaction, counsel to the petitioner, Anselem Eyo said the petitioner should be commended for not taking laws into his hands but approaching the tribunal for a fair adjudication on the issues.
True, those who have tested our laws in court have deepened Nigeria’s democratic tenets and persons such as Iniama belong there, even if the case helped to confirm what is right. Despite the uproar over malpractices, some political parties still have their strongholds, and in Akwa Ibom of today, the PDP is the landlord. Genuine candidates from the PDP in such states do not need to soil their hands to win an election.
Now that the judiciary has stamped the seal, Akpabio can feel free to implement his near N153.5Bn budget which has already attracted national and international reviews going by the enthusiasm and ambitious targets it sets.
Akpabio wants to invest in high-yielding oil and gas ventures for the sake of gainful employments to the youths, set up a Natural Liquefied Gas (LNG) in the state, a deep sea port, a tank farm/floating station project, etc. To show seriousness, a total of N28.601 billion has been provided in the 2008 budget for industry, commerce and tourism sector.
The governor would however do well to help restore the confidence of the people of the state to the electoral process, now that he has got the clean bill to govern his people. The fact that Iniama lost on all grounds can hardly mean that nothing was wrong with the elections in Akwa Ibom.
Just like President Yar’Adua is doing for Nigeria and Chibuike Amaechi is doing in Rivers State, any governor that gets a clean bill of health from the tribunals should regard it as a chance to rescue democracy.
It is enough to win an election but to be seen to have truly won. It is when losers begin to see that they truly lost that winners can hold their heads high just as losers in football encounters in genuine leagues come out shaking the winners. It is only then that his victory will be meaningful.
It would also be regarded as a huge achievement by Governor Godswill Akpabio who took over from Victor Attah who held sway for eight uninterrupted years or by any governor to receive the kind of judicial endorsement that Akpabio has received few days back.
In the past, victory at the polls was all that mattered, while the tribunals were regarded as mere formality. Not anymore, after Chris Ngige left midway in Anambra, Andy Ubah followed him few months ago, Celestine Omehia was shoved off in nearby Rivers State, and others were ordered back to the polls in Kwara, Kebbi and Enugu. Many more are feared to be on the line too.
Now, with President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua bent on allowing the courts and tribunals do their job uninterrupted, the judges seem to have found a new verve, and victories are turning blue. The tyranny of the judges, if it can be called so, is here and the fear of the judge seems to be the beginning of political wisdom in Nigeria today.
In the states, most political appointees and government officials can now be seen exercising maximum caution in how to throw their weights around, else the bug bites. It is mow easy to find such officials asking their followers not to ask for too much “until the tribunal case is over”.
The beauty of the new era could be the fact that an election is not complete until the tribunals and courts say so, and that length of time wasted would remove nothing from the outcome of any court case. It is now also a matter of note in the states that the verdict of one level does not necessarily mean the end of justice.
In most states now, persons in comfortable jobs hardly throw them away to grab political appointments. Caution seems to be the word in such matters, “until the tribunal case is over”, they often say. In the past, they would rush for the grab because the state governors felt they knew how to fix everything. Now, no one seems to be sure anymore.
It is within this context that many observers view the victory in Uyo and the clean bill given to Akpabio to move on with actual governance as a serious development. This adds more to the treacherous road Akpabio treaded upon to eventually clinch the nomination ticket of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
When he eventually won the election, the Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate, James Iniama, cried foul and went to the tribunal. This was against the backdrop of outcry nationwide about massive election rigging. But the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Uyo, seemed to tear through the veil of allegations.
Chairman of the tribunal, Nasir Ajanah while delivering judgment last Saturday on the petition said all the issues raised by the petitioner lacked merit and could not be substantiated in law.
He accordingly struck out the petition and held that the first respondent, Akpabio was duly elected and returned as the winner of the April 14 elections.
The petitioner had urged the tribunal to order a fresh election based on the grounds that Akpabio was not qualified to contest the elections having been indicted by a commission of enquiry set up the Abia State government.
Iniama had also told the tribunal that he was excluded from taking
part in the April 14 elections while he claimed the election was marred by irregularities following vote rigging and illegal thumb printing.
But in his ruling, Ajanah who headed the five-member election tribunal held that the administrative commission of enquiry was improperly constituted as it was not headed by a judicial officer, contrary to the 1999 constitution.
According to the tribunal, a governor can only institute a commission of enquiry on matters after his state, adding that the petitioner had failed to prove that Akpabio had any business transaction in Abia State that warranted the indictment. He said no specific indictment was tied to the white paper issued by the commission of enquiry.
On the issue of exclusion from taking part in the election as pleaded by the petition, the tribunal held that Iniama actually took part in the
election as votes were recorded for him, adding that the fact that his photograph was not on the ballot paper could not be regarded as exclusion.
The tribunal also dismissed the issue of irregularities and rigging and held that the election was conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act 2006 as electoral officials including presiding officers, returning officers and polling clerks took part in the conduct of the election.
He accordingly held that Akpabio was duly elected and returned as the winner of the April 14 elections.
In his reaction, counsel to the petitioner, Anselem Eyo said the petitioner should be commended for not taking laws into his hands but approaching the tribunal for a fair adjudication on the issues.
True, those who have tested our laws in court have deepened Nigeria’s democratic tenets and persons such as Iniama belong there, even if the case helped to confirm what is right. Despite the uproar over malpractices, some political parties still have their strongholds, and in Akwa Ibom of today, the PDP is the landlord. Genuine candidates from the PDP in such states do not need to soil their hands to win an election.
Now that the judiciary has stamped the seal, Akpabio can feel free to implement his near N153.5Bn budget which has already attracted national and international reviews going by the enthusiasm and ambitious targets it sets.
Akpabio wants to invest in high-yielding oil and gas ventures for the sake of gainful employments to the youths, set up a Natural Liquefied Gas (LNG) in the state, a deep sea port, a tank farm/floating station project, etc. To show seriousness, a total of N28.601 billion has been provided in the 2008 budget for industry, commerce and tourism sector.
The governor would however do well to help restore the confidence of the people of the state to the electoral process, now that he has got the clean bill to govern his people. The fact that Iniama lost on all grounds can hardly mean that nothing was wrong with the elections in Akwa Ibom.
Just like President Yar’Adua is doing for Nigeria and Chibuike Amaechi is doing in Rivers State, any governor that gets a clean bill of health from the tribunals should regard it as a chance to rescue democracy.
It is enough to win an election but to be seen to have truly won. It is when losers begin to see that they truly lost that winners can hold their heads high just as losers in football encounters in genuine leagues come out shaking the winners. It is only then that his victory will be meaningful.
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