Daily Independent (Lagos)
Okey Maduforo
23 December 2008
Chief Cornel Umeh is a cultured and thoroughbred civil servant who rose to the apogee of his career before he retired from the Public Service. Those who know him can attest to his eloquence on issues of public interest. He is not given to muttering words, his numerous admirers affirm.
He exhibited this character members of Anambra State House of Assembly invited him for explanations as to why local government elections have not been conducted in the state.
Umeh, Chairman, Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC), went with all his commissioners. Armed with facts and figures, he opened his presentation to the lawmakers present in the House: "We are prepared to conduct local government elections once the necessary logistics are provided. These logistics include funds and other materials for the election. And for the avoidance of doubt, the fund appropriated in the 2007 budget was not released to the commission; so we couldn't conduct local government elections.
"The commission is charged with the responsibility of conducting a hitch-free, and fair local government elections in Anambra state; and we are committed towards that. But I must say that since after the 2005 November mayhem, no kobo has been released to us by government. We wrote to Dame Virgy Etiaba, while she was (the acting) governor and a meeting was also held in that regard. She gave her word but she did not stay longer in office. When Governor (Peter) Obi came in, we wrote the state government about it and we are still awaiting their response."
Umeh recalled that in 2007 N600 million capital votes meant for the commission was not released, reiterating that the commission is prepared to go to polls once funds and all logistics are provided.
But the outspoken chairman of ANSIEC is currently not talking. The elections have not been conducted and the man is passing through the crucibles of public service.
Few months after he spoke to the lawmakers, the police arrested him over an allegation of misappropriating funds. But the accuser could not come to substantiate his claims before the police. The litigation in court appears to have been abandoned, as neither the accused nor the plaintiff seems interested in the matter anymore.
Politicians in the state, however, contend that the arrest of Umeh was masterminded by Government House, Awka, where the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) holds sway. They alleged that the party is jittery over a possible defeat at the polls and, as a result, they are not enthusiastic about the election.
Among those who belong to this school of thought include the state Chairman of the Action Congress (AC), Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu.
"If he (Umeh) has committed any crime, the best thing to do was to charge him to court instead of arresting and detaining him at his age. And when you talk about embezzlement of funds, one wonders how much the state government has released to the commission that was misappropriated. It is obvious that some people don't want local government election to be held in the state and we stand to imagine how much have been released. I urge the police to conclude their investigation and set free the man; but I must warn that we shall not continue to wait, and will not allow this grand plan to work in this state." he said, shortly after the ANSIEC boss regained temporary freedom from the police.
Also speaking on the same subject, the state Chairman of Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Mr. Jude Ezenwafor, told reporters that they were going to resist the plot against the commission.
"We are going to resist it; we must fight it with the last blood in our veins to make sure that it is stopped. Why are they talking of the man squandering millions of naira when he uses that rickety Peugeot car as chairman of ANSIEC? It is a ploy to mar the man's reputation because he was appointed by Dr. Chris Ngige, and the present government knows that their party cannot win any council let alone a local government.
"We believe that the man is innocent of whatever allegations levelled against him. Moreover, those behind this should know that the president is different from the past and believes in justice and fairness," he stated.
National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, was, however, emphatic in his defence of the APGA administration on the matter.
His words: "How can we conduct local government elections when the former governor, Dr. Chris Ngige, appointed Cornel Umeh, his cousin, as chairman and another one as member. The election will not be fair. It is Ngige that has been drumming this trouble of local government election. He has been instigating the Assembly members to pass the resolution. This is simply because he wants to be governor again. We will not conduct that election now. If we do, it there will be trouble. Look at what happened in Jos, Plateau State, and you people want us to do that and mayhem would be unleashed on this state. We shall do it when time is proper, not now," he said.
Director of communications in Ngige Campaign Organisation, Chief Charles Amilo, however threw it back at the APGA boss, questioning his authority in making such a statement.
"Is he really the National Chairman of APGA? Much as I will not want to reply to what the man is saying, it is proper to set the records straight. This people know that you are not on the ground. They know that they cannot even win in Anaocha Local Government Area where both Umeh and Peter Obi come from. So, they are afraid that Ngige, while in office, appointed two of his cousins is a bad way to admit failure. Ngige is not the Governor of Anambra State, and Obi is telling us that he is so incapacitated, and lacking administrative will power to direct ANSIEC on what to do. That was why they tried to remove Umeh; and the court said no. They arrested him on the grounds of misappropriating funds, and they failed. Now they are waiting for his tenure to expire by July 2009 so that they will now appoint their own in-laws and uncles to conduct local government election. Even if that is done, they will still not win. It is really a bad case and the sooner they accepted this fate the better for them," he said.
While the verbal attack lingers, the state assembly passed a resolution directing the state government to release funds for the conduct of the election, immediately. It also directed ANSIEC to act accordingly, once funds are released.
The resolution, signed by the entire 30 members of the Assembly and sponsored by the Chairman, Committee on Election Matters, Mrs. Chinwe Nwaebili, representing Ogbaru II Constituency reads: "Whereas the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 at Section 7 (1) guarantees a system of democratic elected local government in Nigeria; whereas Anambra State has not held local government elections since 1999; whereas it is illegal to operate local government councils in disregard of constitutional guarantee of a democratically elected third tier of government; whereas appropriation was made for the conduct of local government elections in fiscal year 2008 in Anambra state; whereas there has been requisite peace, quiet and security in Anambra State; whereas there is no further reasonable justification for non-conduct of local government elections in Anambra State, this honourable House directs the governor of Anambra State to immediately release funds for the conduct of elections in the local governments in the state. "And that the state Independent Electoral Commission should immediately conduct local government elections once funds are made available."
The ANSIEC boss, has since hailed the resolution, saying the body welcomed the development. He noted that the commission had always been disposed to conducting local government elections in the state, promising that once funds were made available, machinery would be put in motion for the exercise immediately.
While the duo Nwobu and the Publicity Secretary of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) Prince Chuba Ikeagwu joined ANSIEC in lauding the resolutions and showing preparedness for the exercise, the conflicts over who calls the shots in APGA continued to deepen.
Umeh is currently flaunting a judgement of a Federal High Court Abuja, to support his claim to the National chairmanship of the party, which has been dismissed by the founding chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie as a non-issue. Okorie insists till date that no court in the land has made Umeh the chairman of the party, contending that whenever nominations are called, he would chose candidates that would contest the election on the party's ticket.
"Let him (Umeh) show us one sentence in the said judgment which indicated that he is chairman. If there is such a judgment, why has he not gone to INEC for certificate of acceptance and confirmation?
Umeh however dismissed Okorie's claim, saying the judiciary has spoken and the rule of law would be obeyed.
He urged party members to discountenance any statement by persons or group of persons parading themselves or their proxies as chairman or executive members of the party, both in the state and at the national level, reaffirming that he is the national chairman of the party.
The Assembly had on November 27 last year, passed a similar resolution urging the governor to ensure that the council polls were held before December 31 since, according to the lawmakers, N400 million was provided for the exercise in that year's budget.
Also in 2008 appropriation N400 million was also approved for the election. It is, however, not in doubt that local government elections will not be conducted in Anambra for now. Analysts are of the view that since Umeh's tenure as ANSIEC chairman is expiring in July 2009 and governorship election would be conducted around December 2009 or January 2010, it would be so much for a state to carry.
But another school of thought expressed fears that the APGA-led government may conduct council polls after a new chairman and commissioners are inaugurated, influence the exercise, win in majority of the council areas to build structures for re-election in 2010.
But Obi alone cannot be accused of not conducting council poll. His predecessor, Ngige, could not due to the mayhem that swept the state in November 2004. Though the commission had concluded all arrangements and fixed date for the exercise, Ngige's political traducers refused the election from taking place. Also three official letters from the Presidency signed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo warned that he would be held responsible for any consequence that may trail the exercise.
Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Ngige's predecessor also failed in that direction. Following the dissolution of the councils in 2002, several primaries were held by the PDP, which ended in controversy put paid to the effort.
The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in the state has, however, disagreed with reasons given by the trio of Mbadinuju, Ngige and Obi over the conduct of the polls. According to its chairman, Comrade Aloysius Attah, these were cover-up for the rip-off on the local government system.
"From our findings, through the published statement of disbursement by the Federal Ministry of Finance, between June and December 2007 only, the 21 local governments in the state got over N10 billion from the Federation Account. We call on the Government of Anambra State to render account of over 140 billion believed to have accrued into the account of the 21 local governments between June 1999 and December 2008. Out of this amount, about N50 billion is believed to have been lodged in private coffers. While Anambrarians await this account, the government should as a matter of urgency conduct elections into the councils and various markets in the state," it stated.
There is no doubt that with the approaching governorship election that would see to another governor mounting the leadership of the state in 2010, the ding over the election would get louder, just as the gladiators dig in further.
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