By Nnamdi Ojiego

A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, Mr. Ndubisi Etugo Ogah, has filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Umuahia, seeking to stop the PDP and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from fielding and recognising Prof. Uche Ikonne as governorship candidate of the party for the 2023 election.

 Ogah, in a motion exparte suit number FHC/UM/CS/63/2022 filed by his lawyer, P.C. Dike, is seeking an order of the court stopping PDP and INEC from fielding and recognising Ikonne as the candidate of the party because the power rotation agreement in the state known as Abia Charter of Equity did not favour Abia Central senatorial zone to produce the next governor of the state.

He is also praying Justice Evelyn Anyadike to order the PDP to return the governorship ticket to Abia North Senatorial zone because going by the agreement signed by the founding fathers of the state known as Abia Charter of Equity (ACE), Abia North is next in line to produce the governor in 2023. 

Joined and listed as defendants/respondents to the suit are the PDP, National Chairman, Iyorvhia Ayu; INEC, Zonal Chairman of PDP in South East geopolitical zone, Ali Odefa, state chairman of the party, Asiforo Okere and the governorship candidate, Ikonne.

Others are the Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu; current Acting Board of Trusses (BoT) Chairman of party, Sen. Adolphous Nwabara, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe representing Abia South in the Senate and former Chairman of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Chief Onyema Ugochukwu.

Briefing journalists after filing the case, yesterday, Dike said his client, who is from Isikwuato in Abia North senatorial zone, approached the court because he was allegedly denied the opportunity to contest the governorship election under PDP by the leader of the party in the state, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, by refusing to abide by the ACE agreement signed by the founding fathers led by the late governor of old Eastern region, Dr M.I. Okpara. 

He explained: “Going by the ACE agreement, it is the turn of Abia North to produce the governor of Abia State in 2023. So my client who is from Abia North came out to contest the governorship election, but he was denied the opportunity to buy the PDP form and contest for the governorship ticket after obtaining the expression of interest form by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and his cohorts in PDP who refused to recognise the ACE agreement and took the governorship ticket to Abia Central zone.”

He stressed that zoning and rotation of power under the ACE was as old as Abia State and well known among the quarters that make up the state namely, Afikpo, Bende, Isikwuato and Aba with Afikpo producing the first elected governor in the person of Ogbonnaya Onu before Afikpo was ceded to Ebonyi State when Ebonyi was created.

 Brandishing a copy of the ACE, Dike recalled that Abia North produced former governor Orji Uzor Kalu when democracy returned in 1999 under the same zoning arrangement, adding that former governor Theodore Orji from Abia Central took over from Kalu as governor in 2007 to ensure a smooth run of the Charter of Equity.