Daily Champion (Lagos)
Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu
4 November 2009
Ikemba Nnewi, Chief Chukwuemeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu may have stirred the ire of a northern youth group, the Arewa Patriotic Vanguard (APV), with his threat of civil war should the Court of Appeal in Enugu give judgment in favour of Andy Uba in a suit seeking interpretation of his status on account of the 2007 governorship elections in Anambra State.
Ojukwu had warned the Court of Appeal not "to lead us into another war" by acceding to request by Uba to be declared governor-in-waiting of Anambra State.
But reacting to the comment in a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, National Coordinator of APV, Alhaji Rasak Gidado, called for a general condemnation of the Ojukwu threat and an apology from the former Biafran leader for heating up the polity at a time when Nigerians are seeking peaceful resolutions of their differences.
He said the threat "amounts to recklessness on the part of a leader and an elder statesman who ought to be living in regrets over the ravaging impacts of the civil war he lead on the development of Nigeria."
He however accused Ojukwu of seeking to influence the judgement of the court on the matter.
"Ojukwu's outburst clearly shows that he is trying to influence the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Enugu with his civil war threats, whereas, as a politician who claims to be a democrat, he ought to allow the rule of law to reign.
"Ojukwu should be told in clear terms that what is being promoted by all patriots in the country now is the rule of law, due process and peace and not rule of the jungle", Alhaji Gidado said.
Gidado also urged Ojukwu to open his mind to accept the verdict of the court no matter which way it goes.
"We do not see anything wrong in what Andy Uba did by taking the matter to court, neither will we be surprised if the court rules in his favour. Uba behaved like a democrat by not taking the law into his hands, or by resorting to fomenting trouble when the Supreme Court ruled against him in 2007. We expect Ojukwu to follow suit", the group said.
The APV leader said Ojukwu ought to have waited for the outcome of the Court of Appeal to be made public before taking a position on the matter, adding that, the group is convinced that his views are not shared by the Anambra people.
APV also faulted Ojukwu's opposition to the matter being heard at the Court of Appeal. The group drew his attention to the fact that the Appeal Court is legally recognized as the final court in governorship election matters in the country and should therefore adjudicate on such cases as referred to them, from time to time.
"The Arewa Patriotic Vanguard strongly believes that it is right and in national interest, for Dr Andy Uba to have chosen to exercise his constitutional right by seeking a motion at the court of appeal in Enugu barring INEC from conducting a fresh election into the office of governor of Anambra State, pending the determination of the suit he instituted seeking a declaratory order on an earlier judgment by the same court that he remains the duly elected governor of Anambra state in the April 14, 2007 election and finally requesting that he takes over from the present governor on march 17, 2010, when Peter Obi's tenure is due to lapse," Gidado said.
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