All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial District, Prof. Dora Akunyili, has strongly condemned the desperation of her main rival, Dr. Chris Ngige of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), to prevent the Election Petition Tribunal from hearing her case.
Akunyili, who is challenging the declaration of Ngige as winner of the April 9, 2011 senatorial election for Anambra Central, described his attitude as being reminiscent of that of the woman in the Bible who preferred to have a disputed child killed rather than being given to the rightful owner.
“All I have done by going to court is to give the judiciary an opportunity to determine whether the election was rigged or not and to determine the rightful winner of the said election, but Ngige’s desperation has seen him filing frivolous suits seeking to have the case thrown out on technical grounds contrary to the spirit and letters of the Electoral Act,” Akunyili said in a statement signed on her behalf by her Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Isaac Umunna.
The former Information and Communications Minister observed that “Ngige’s attitude runs counter to his claims of having won the election because if he is convinced that he really won it, he would have been eager to allow the judiciary to do its work.”
Akunyili’s statement followed Friday’s dismissal of three fresh appeals filed by Ngige at the Court of Appeal Enugu seeking to have the court rescind its ruling of the previous week compelling the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Awka to hear Akunyili’s case on merit. In addition to dismissing all three appeals by Ngige on Friday, the Court of Appeal also ordered him to pay Akunyili N30,000 for each of the failed appeals, amounting to N90,000 for the three appeals.
With Friday’s ruling, all is now set for the Election Petition Tribunal, which similarly threw out Ngige’s objection last week Monday, to start hearing Akunyili’s case in Awka from tomorrow, December 6.
