Chuks Okocha
20 August 2008
Abuja — President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua will today lead members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to Calabar, the Cross River State capital, for the re-election campaign of Senator Liyel Imoke in the-re-run governorship election scheduled for Saturday.
Also, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will use helicopters to deliver voting materials and officials in areas described as "difficult terrains" of the state.
According to a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Prof. Ahmed Rufai Alkali, the campaign, which is expected to take place at the U.J. Esuene Stadium, would also have in attendance governors of the party from the zone, as well as the members of the NWC of the party led by the National Chairman, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor.
Alkali said the campaign is expected to kick off by 10 am.
INEC's National Commissioner in charge of Information and Publicity, Mr. Philip Umeadi, said: "INEC would be using members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and its staff for the election."
He said altogether, over 2,800 NYSC and INEC staff would be deployed in the state for the election, adding that INEC was prepared for the election.
Meanwhile, the party has said it is aware of campaigns of calumny against Imoke explaining that it has taken a decision to field him as its flag bearer at Saturday re-run election.
The National Vice-Chairman of PDP in South-south, Chief Edet Nkpurbre, in a statement decried what he described as campaign of calumny against Imoke.
According to a statement by Nkprubre, "The party is aware of campaigns of calumny by some faceless individuals against the party's gubernatorial candidate in the forthcoming August 26, 2007 re-run governorship election in Cross River State, Chief Liyel Imoke, to the effect that he has been indicted for corrupt enrichment and therefore not qualified to contest for the exalted office of governor."
He also said: "For the avoidance of doubt, the Chairman wishes to state that Senator Liyel Imoke remains the authentic candidate of our great party, PDP, for the Cross River re-run gubernatorial election and that Imoke has never been indicted by any known judicial commission of enquiry or convicted by a law court of competent jurisdiction as stipulated by law."
The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar had on July 14 removed Imoke as the state governor after ruling that his election last year failed to comply with the 2006 Electoral Act.
Imoke's ouster resulted from an appeal by four opposition parties - the All Nigeria People Party (ANPP), the African Renaissance Party (ARP), the Action Congress (AC), and the People Progressive Alliance (PPA) - challenging the verdict of the Election Petition Tribunal on January 23, this year upholding the former governor as duly elected.
The ANPP candidate, Mr. Paul Ukpo; his PPA and ARP counterparts, Mr. Iheke Awa Solomon and Mr. James Ebri; and the AC had taken Imoke to the Justice Amina Wambai-led tribunal, which ruled in the former governor's favour.
Dissatisfied with that verdict, ANPP's Ukpo headed to the Court of Appeal, arguing that Imoke's election failed the test of the 2006 Electoral Act.
In the unanimous judgment Justice Suleiman Galadima cited anomalies associated with allocation of scores and non-presentation of result sheets at the polling booths as fatal flaws of the election.
He also said the petitioners were not given fair hearing by the tribunal.
According to him, INEC did not comply substantially with the provisions of the 2006 Electoral Act as it failed to make available result sheets for elections at the polling station as demanded by the law.
He ruled that the petitioners proved that votes were unilaterally awarded to Imoke in a manner that could be described as anything but free and fair.
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