BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAKWURU
CROSS River State Chairman of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, Hon. Cletus Obun, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to appeal against the judgment of the Abuja High Court stopping five states from participating in the April 2011 governorship election in the country.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had on Wednesday delivered judgment on a suit brought by the Governors of Adamawa, Bayelsa, Kogi, Sokoto and Cross River states challenging the plans by the INEC to conduct governorship elections in the states in view of their first election being nullified, which made them have a re-run and got sworn-in afresh.

Commenting on the judgment, Obun who is also the Cross River State chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN urged INEC to challenge the judgment

His words: ‘’The Appeal and Supreme Courts will put this matter in proper perspective. It was wrong for the affected governors to have used Anambra State as a basis for going to court. Governor Peter Obi had not been in office before unlike these governors that were in office for some months and years. His case is completely different.

“We in the opposition and not just those in the opposition, every legitimate Nigerian who is legally conscious, every Nigerian who knows the benefits and loses of an office will definitely ask INEC to go to the Appeal Court. If INEC does not go to Appeal Court, it will lose its legitimacy and credibility.”

He added: “I know that under Prof. Attahiru Jega, the INEC chairman, there must be an appeal. I want you to also remember that this present Court of Appeal president upon the screening before the National Assembly was asked this question of illegitimacy in office. He may not align with the reason of the lower court. The High Court has set a bad judicial precedence. The judgment is pregnant for Nigeria’s democracy.”.

Also commenting on the judgment, the National Assistant secretary of the Congress for the Progressive Change, CPC, Barrister Okoi Ofem Obono_Obla said the judgment was disappointing and wrong from his perspective.

He said that it was wrong to rig an election and at the same time benefit from the wrongdoing, stressing that any person that participated in rigging election should not be glorified but punished.

Obono_Obla said the ruling of the High Court would continue to promote the culture of rigging and impunity in the polity and described it as a wrong judgment that was giving legitimacy to rigging.

“It is a wrong judgment. What of the appointments made during the time, does it amount to a nullity? One should not take oath of office twice”, he said.

The State chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, Prince Martins Bisong said that it was expected that the judgment should go either way, but noted that the party had the option of going on appeal and that the ruling “is a matter that can get to the Supreme Court.”

As the opposition parties in the state continue to criticize the judgment, the state government and the ruling PDP said the Judiciary had once again restored the hope of the common man.