The Governorship election Screening Panel of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in All Progressive Congress (APC) yesterday disqualified Chief Godwin Ezeemo who picked the nomination form of the party on Tuesday for criminal conviction in a London Crown Court in 2011, for exporting toxic waste from UK into Nigeria.
Both The 1999 constitution, as amended and the electoral Act 201 rule out ex-convicts from holding public offices. The sentence was also confirmed by a British Supreme Appeal Court and he was sentenced to six months imprisonment.
Remarkably Ezeemo, according to related sources in the APC failed to disclose this in his nomination form, where he stated that he was not an ex-convict.
Ezeemo was also axed for not meeting the mandatory bar set by the party for academic records, experience and punctuality. He scored 42.2 percent, short of the required 50 percent.
In addition he was confirmed to be a citizen of the United Kingdom (UK), while being a Nigerian by birth. Section 183 Subsection 1 of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 as amended frowns at dual citizenship for governorship and presidential aspirants.
The action of the Screening Committee followed an intensive screening exercise for the two remaining aspirants in the race for the APC ticket, Senator Dr Chris Ngige and Ezeemo. Senator Ngige had earlier been endorsed by Chief Annie Okonkwo who gave up his ambition to lead Ngige’s governorship campaign as well as the South East caucus of the APC.
With the development, the Primary elections of the party billed for Monday ,September 2,2013 has become an affirmation, rather than elective session for the APC candidate designate Senator Chris Ngige, who is rated by the media and pundits as the man to beat in the November 16 elections.
Activities for the primaries begin on Sunday evening in all the 326 Wards of Anambra State and peaks on Monday in a special convention to be held in Awka.
