SATURDAY BREAKFAST with TONY OKOROJI

There was significant tremor or you might say, an earthquake, among the Nigerian political class this week following the unexpected decision by a Federal High Court Judge, Hon Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo that Dave Umahi and Kelechi Igwe had ceased to be Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State respectively upon their defection from PDP to the APC which the court declared unlawful and unconstitutional.

The immediate reaction of Governor Umahi was completely bombastic. His tirade against the judgement and the trial judge showed that the judgment had hit “bulls-eye” and that Umahi, despite any attempt to appear calm, was caught off guard and may be terribly scared. In his mind, “who is this Ekwo man who has the temerity to take away my ordained governorship?” His reported unprecedented and incredibly quick assembly of a battery of 18 Senior Advocates to head to the Court of Appeal shows without question that there is big fire on the mountain and a brigade of firefighters, at whatever cost, must be hired to put out this raging fire.

I give kudos to NBA President, Olumide Akpata who acted like a man and instantly and masterfully called Engr. Umahi to order and reminded him that Nigeria is not a banana republic. We may elect governors but, in this land, we do not make anyone an emperor and no one should be above the law. It is good to know that without wasting time, Umahi listened to wise counsel and publicly apologized for his caustic outburst against Ekwo. I wonder about the wisdom in his going to the Ebonyi State High Court to get an ex-parte order to try to thwart Ekwo’s judgment.

I had begun to think that nobody had the courage to call the rascals in our politics to order until Justice Inyang Ekwo spoke. I am a great believer in the rule of law. I consider the rule of law to be the foundation of the progress of any society. Don’t give me roads, don’t give me a railway, don’t give me dams. Please don’t give me a 3rd Niger Bridge. Give me the rule of law and there will be many roads, railways, dams, 3rd, 4th and 5th Niger Bridges, hospitals and schools and peace and order in the land. With the rule of law, there will be no abuse of power and none of the waste and humongous stealing and banditry going on around us.

Justice Ekwo has truly burst a bubble as that which was being murmured around is now being discussed openly and vigorously as it ought to be in a democracy. Is it ok for our politicians to be acting like prostitutes without beliefs, principles and control, sleeping with one man in the morning and another at night and causing instability all over the place? All kinds of pocket lawyers and constitutionalists have become engaged in the argument.

The facts are not in dispute. In March 2019, Incumbent PDP Governor, Dave Umahi, nominated by the PDP, contested the gubernatorial election in Ebonyi to execute the programs and manifesto of the PDP. One of his opponents in the election was Sonni Ogbuoji who was nominated by the APC to contest the election and execute the programs and manifesto of the APC.
After the campaign, the people of Ebonyi overwhelmingly voted for the PDP giving Umahi, its candidate, 393,043 votes or about 82% of the total votes cast. APC’s Ogbuoji got 81,703 votes or about 17% of the total votes cast. That should have been the end of the matter.

Alas in November 2020, Ebonyi people woke up one morning to hear that the man they gave their mandate to execute the programs and manifesto of the PDP had dumped them and defected to the APC purportedly with their mandate. There should not be any debate about the constitutional rights of Engr Umahi to belong to any political party of his choice. The question is whether it is proper for Umahi, having been elected on the platform of the PDP, to take the mandate given to him, to do an about turn and move to APC to implement the programs and policies of an opposition party roundly rejected by the people. Umahi was not the candidate of the APC. It was Sonni Ogbuoji!

When the people of Ebonyi went to vote, on the ballot paper, they saw the symbols of different parties and not the photograph of any candidate. There are no independent candidates in Nigeria.

In the news, it is reported that Justice Ekwo sacked Umahi as Governor of Ebonyi State. I beg to disagree. The way I see it, Umahi sacked Umahi! On the day he decided to defect, he resigned his position. The sacred mandate given to him by Ebonyi citizens is not his car, his cell phone, his laptop, or watch to take wherever he goes. It is not his personal property to be taken wherever he chooses. Umahi was elected as governor, not an emperor. Upon his decided resignation as governor, he also lost his immunity and was rightly sued for purporting to be that which he no longer was.

I know that there are other opinions on this matter. I respect those opinions. As this case is likely to end up in the Supreme Court, I would hope that there is no attempt to run out the clock and that the courts would expedite action on this very important matter which might help determine whether the Nigerian democratic experiment survives or not. But for now, anyone else planning to be an Umahi must be asking himself questions.

To me, the law has to make sense. Some of the people who are shouting “no!… no!” today will if the shoe is on another foot, be speaking differently.

As Nigerians look in consternation and disbelief and the nation staggers from one deep crisis to another, there is now no doubt that most of our politicians in the executive and legislative arms have failed us badly. There must be other men and women of courage in the judiciary who like Inyang Ekwo, can call the bluff of the political class and save this nation for our children. There must be other men and women in the professions like Olumide Akpata who are prepared to stand up to be counted and say, “enough is enough”

Until I see these others, Inyang Edem Ekwo and Olumide Akpata are my Nigerians of the year.

See you next week.