… Swears in Afam Nwankwoani
The Chairman Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State, Hon. Emeka Ede and the Leader of the Enugu North Local Government Legislative Council, Hon. Kate Ayogu may soon be telling the Court why they should not be held liable of contempt of court.
This is because, the Enugu North Legislative Council with the consent of the execute arm of the local government on Tuesday sworn in Mr. Afam Nwankwoani as the Councilor representing Ogui New Layout in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State instead of Hon. Kingsley Ekelozie who was re-elected by the people of his constituency in December 2013 to represent them for the second time even when there is a pending matter before an appeal court in the state.
It will be recalled that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led Enugu State made a proclamation to return all the Council Chairmen alongside their Councilors except for a few of them who did not live up to the expectation of the government and the electorates who voted them into office.
It will also be recalled that Hon. Kingsley Ekelozie was one of the lucky Councilors who found favour with the State government as well as his constituents as he was returned to continue to represent the people of Ogui New Layout for the second tenure unfortunately, he was not sworn in for the second term by the Council Chairman alongside his colleagues in the legislative council on the ground that there was a case of certificate forgery brought against him.
Eventually, the matter was heard at the level of the Election Petition Tribunal where Hon. Ekelozie lost and proceeded to the appeal court for a final verdict. But while the appeal court is yet to take a decision on the matter, the legislative council on Tuesday sworn in Mr. Afam Nwankwoani as the substantive Councilor representing Ogui New Layout Ward.
Reacting to the development, Hon. Ekelozie expressed surprise at the development wondering who gave the Council Chairman the instruction to swear in somebody in his stead when the matter was pending before an appeal court.
Hon. Ekelozie told Primetime Reporters that the local government boss was fighting him because he (Ekelozie) failed to support his second term bid as the Chairman of the Council in the last election.
On why he refused to support his second term bid, Ekelozie said,” the issue was that he wanted to remove our majority leader without any reason and I don’t even know that he had a hand in that but one of our colleagues stood up and moved a motion for the removal of the majority leader. I asked the guy why we should remove our majority leader. He said the guy was starching his clothes and that he was too pompous”.
“I told the guy that that was not enough reason to remove our majority leader, that was not an issue, that he should look for something better to discuss. Then somebody in the House stood up and moved a motion for my own suspension for this thing I told you now and our leader seconded it. They suspended me for five months. They were just four out of thirteen; they were not even in the majority to move motion for my suspension. So the majority was telling them that I cannot be suspended. They approached the Chairman and he stopped my salary, seized my five months salary with all my entitlements and allowances”.
“So, on his own re-election bid, I said I will not support him, that nothing will make me to support him. After the whole election, he started fighting me, even the day I was going to submit my file to the State Party House, he sent our local government party chairman to our party house, he (Local Government Party Chairman) told them that they should not collect my file that the local government chairman said that I was not going back. The people then told him to go and tell the local government chairman that he was not the right person to tell them who to collect file from and who not to collect file from. Look at now, the matter is still in court and he went on and swears somebody in”.
He recalled that after the election and he was re-elected by his constituents, Hon. Ede had to sponsor somebody to go to the tribunal to contest that he was not the right candidate even when the Party returned all the former councilors.
“So, after that, he went to court, the court told him that all the councilors were returned back. He then went to the extreme, to where I kept my file, picked my result and sent that person back that it was forged result that I used as in my B.Sc. So, we are still in court, I heard yesterday that he went on to swear somebody in. I just decided to sit down and watch because I have complained to the friends I have, they said I should exercise patience”.
“The case is still going on in the court of appeal, the young man went ahead and swear somebody in telling them that they had an election and that guy was elected. There was no place that they conducted election. PDP was busy campaigning for the general election, they don’t have time for ward election now”, he said.
When asked if there was any time his seat was declared vacant by the legislative council, he denied any knowledge of such development saying that there was never a time such a thing happened.
On what next for him to do, he answered,” as am talking to you now, I am driving straight to the ENSIEC (Enugu State Independent Electoral Commission) so that let me just confirm whether or not ENSIEC is aware of the development because I am just surprised. How can he just wake up and swear in somebody? Let me just find out from ENSIEC whether any other person gave him the authority to do that”.
He further hinted that he had instructed his lawyer to file a contempt of court charge against Hon. Ede and the leadership of the legislative council to press for his rights.
When asked the position of his ward chairman on the whole issue, he told Primetime Reporters that, “he is among them now, everybody that the chairman (Hon. Ede) pays salary cannot even support me because all of them are just running for their heads because if you should dare stand by me, he will stop your salary”.
When contacted, the leader, Enugu North Legislative Council, Hon. Kate Ayogu asked, please why can’t you ask my boss?
When Primetime Reporters sought to know if she was referring to the Council Chairman, Hon. Ede as her boss, she answered,” Yes! Ask the local government chairman, he is in a position to answer any question”.
Even when Primetime Reporters tried to remind her that the said development was not in the Executive arm but in the Legislative arm thus the principle of separation of powers, she insisted,” No! He knows better than me. I am under him; I am just an ordinary councilor please. I am under him. I think you should understand my position. Please you ask my chairman abeg. That is my take on it”.
All efforts made by Primetime Reporters to get the views of the local government chairman, Hon. Emeka Ede did not yield any result as he failed to answer all the calls put across to him as well as to reply a text message sent across to him.
