By Elizabeth Uwandu

ABUJA— Peoples Democratic Party, PDP chieftain and former special assistant to Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Mr. Ben Onyechere, has described the court judgment delivered by an Abuja High Court annulling the election of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on allegation of tax evasion as a hog wash black market judgment which cannot stand the test of serious scrutiny.

Ikpeazu

In a telephone chat with Vanguard, he said that in Nigeria today under the current dispensation, the judiciary is adjudged to have improved and kept its shoulders above board, but not without the existence of a few people whose senses of judgment have not only continued to smear the image of the judiciary. but also undermine the character of the judiciary.

“This judgment is not only obnoxious and derogatory of our hard-earned democracy, but also belittles the personality of the judge in question. This is certainly the reason the highly reputable chief judge has continued to scrutinize the veracity of some judgments with the view to eradicating cash and carry disposition of some judges.

“The case of annulment of Abia governor’s election by merely declaring that he forged tax receipts is mischievous because the governor’s records can be investigated by the EFCC to verify whether he worked and resigned from government services in which case his tax was deductible at the end of every month.

“This chief judge should have asked for in-depth investigation rather than basing his argument on the frivolity of the date on the tax certificates.

“The way and manner that order was made in which the judge ordered that certificate of return be issued to Uche Ogah immediately in flagrant disregard of the constitution is not only curious but also suspicious and an aberration of justice.”