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Author: Chukwudi Nwokoye Esq.
Posted to the web: 4/5/2008 11:12:51 AM

I would not have attempted a response to the fairy-tale optimism of this writer claiming to be Mr. Ikenna Ezenekwe. I would rather have my previous article published in the Nigeria Village Square and titled: “Re: Andy Uba Remains a Legally Sworn In Governor” and “Andy Uba’s Legal Delusions” published by Saharareporters.com on the same day speak for themselves. However, in order to correct some wild allegations raised by the writers, I wish to put the record straight, so that people would not be hoodwinked into believing as true, the assertions of the writers.  After my article was published, a rejoinder titled: “Nwokoye’s Delusion Over Andy Uba’s Victory” was published in Nigeriavillagesquare on March 8, 2008 . However; the writer who claimed to be Mr. Ezenekwe, curiously kept speaking in the third person “Mr. Ezenekwe” 'he' 'author of the article' instead of “I” or “my”.    Hear him: 

    “Chukwudi Nwokoye had written his piece in reply to an early piece authored by Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe titled “Andy Uba remains a legally sworn in governor” which was published at Kwenu, Ukpakareporters and Nigerian Village Square.” “The original article written by a former critic of Andy Uba and a former apologist of Chris Ngige which precipitated Chukwudi Nwokoye’s acidic rejoinder had attempted to relay what the finer implications of the judgment as rendered by federal appeals court in Enugu in February 2008 over the gubernatorial elections of 2007 in Anambra State .  The article by Mr. Ikenna Ellis-Ezenekwe expatiated that the Federal Appeals Courts reversal of the election tribunal’s nullification of both the gubernatorial elections and of the May 29th inauguration of Andy Uba, in essence means through extrapolative deduction that Andy Uba remains a legally sworn in governor of Anambra State . He continued to put forth the argument that the Federal Appeals Court judgment in fact did not in any way conflict with the earlier Supreme Court ruling that returned Mr. Peter Obi to the seat of Governorship. He argued that while the Supreme Court mentioned in passing the issue of elections held in Anambra, it did not however adjudicate on the said elections, as that would be left for the tribunal to decipher…..” “While spewing his near noxious rage on the judgment, Mr. Nwokoye took his venom to the author of the article that precipitated his write up……”

So from the above, one can deduce the proverbial “Esau’s hand and Jacob’s voice”. But be that as it may, I will respond to the writer whomever he is and also Mr. Ezenekwe both jointly and severally.
My response to the legal issues is very simple; “contrafactum non fit argumentum” -an argument cannot stand against a fact.
*It a fact that the Supreme Court in interpretation of section 180 (2) decided that Gov Peter Obi’s tenure subsists until 17th March 2010 . This is the foundation of the whole political situation. *It is a fact that section 178 (2) of the constitution clearly stipulates that “an election to the office of Governor of a state shall be held on a date not earlier than sixty days and not later than thirty days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of that office” *It is a fact that there is an occupant of an office whose tenure started on the 17th March, 2006 and does not expire until 17th March 2010 . *It is a fact that the Supreme Court chastised the INEC for conducting an election to an office that was not vacant. *It is a fact that the Supreme Court is the highest court in the land, and it is also a fact that the Court of Appeal is the highest Court of Record in Election Petition issue, but that there is a Supreme Court decision that is still valid and subsisting. *It is a fact that the decision of the Supreme Court is unassailable that there was no vacancy in the Governor’s Lodge in Anambra State and that an election can only be held in the spirit of Section 178 (2) of the constitution. *It is a fact that section 1 of the constitution states that the constitution is supreme law of the land. *It is also a fact that the Supreme Court in its judgment sympathized with Andy Uba for having spent money to run a campaign in the belief that there was a vacancy and to “win” an election only to be told that his efforts were an exercise in futility. *Finally, it is a fact that the Supreme Court ordered Andy Uba to vacate the Governor’s Mansion immediately for Governor Obi whose term of office subsists, as the Supreme Court did not use the term “step-aside”. The Supreme Court’s order was express, and there was nothing convoluted about it. But again, do not take my words for it, take the words of Justice Tabai (one of the Supreme Court Justices) in the case (Peter Obi Vs. INEC and Others) where he held that 'the decision that the appellant, Mr. Peter Obi, is still the governor and remains the governor until the March 17, 2010 supercedes, cancels and nullifies the purported election or inauguration of the fifth respondent (Andy Uba) as the governor of Anambra State. The fifth respondent was therefore not the appellant's successor in office to have taken the oath of office within the meaning of section 180(1)(a) of the constitution.' Now people are free to draw their own independent conclusion about as to the state of affairs in Anambra State . The spin-masters can slice and dice the judgment of the Supreme Court as they want in order to suit their ego. Like I said earlier, an argument cannot stand against a fact.  The writer talked about Obi’s and other candidates’ failure to obtain an injunction to stop the sham election that produced Andy Uba. But he failed to mention that Governor Obi wrote to Prof. Iwu’s INEC intimating him of a section 180 (2) of the constitution which unambiguously stated that a governors term of office starts from his date of swearing in and oath of office, and that Prof. Iwu marched ahead with his plan to (s)elect Andy Uba as governor. However, I pray that God will keep all of us alive until 2010, when another election is due in Anambra State . Sixty days prior to March 17th 2010 , we would know who will win another election, but before then, we will wait and see. Having dealt with the legal aspect of the rejoinder let me answer to their specific insinuations about where I stand in the Anambra issue. Let me start by what they writers stated: “And it is needless responding to Nwokoye on this one because I have never met Mr. Nwokoye and Mr. Nwokoye does not know me to comment on my person” Mr. Ezenekwe is correct; I do not know him or met him in person. But do I need to know him to understand his kind of person. My informed conclusion about him is that he left the side of the people and joined the same cabals that he had written against. In the beginning, Mr. Ezenekwe must have read my numerous articles in the Nigeriaworld and that must have made him, as editor of nanka.org to write me on January 29th, 2007 , requesting me to send articles to his nanka.org. I obliged him and started sending articles to him. The following day, Andy Uba purportedly wrote an article in the Guardian Newspapers on Monday 30th January, 2007 , Titled: Leadership As Service to Our People”. I wrote a rejoinder in Nigeriaworld on 31st January, 2007 , titled: “Re: Leadership As Service to Our People” and sent a copy to nanka.org. The article was published also in nanka.org. Same days after the publication, I received from him the enclosed letter below: 

     From:  Editor Nanka.Org (editor@nanka.org)  Sent: Wed 1/31/ 07 3:28 PM  To: nwokoyeac@XXX.com Hello Sir: Your rejoinder to the supposed write up by Andy Uba... is superb. It shows your knowledge of the events as they occured. I hope you do not mind if I keep this line of communication open. This is because I intend to learn and/or bounce information off-you from time to time. Thanks for the article. Editor
    When I was sending other articles to his organization, little did I know that he would make a u-turn, leave the side of Anambra masses and start fighting on the side of the mighty. How naïve I was. Even after he notified me about his new website (ukpakareporters.com) and asked that I continue to send future article, I continued to send my articles to him.

It was after I saw his u-turn that I stopped sending article to organization as I did not want my name to be associated with his antics anymore. In fact I wrote the editor telling him to remove me from his listings and purge any articles written by me in the past from their website. To this day, they have not done so. It is up to the reading public to separate the wheat from the chaff. However, I will also go further to respond to other issues raised by whoever the writer is about my objectivity. I must admit that I have hit some nerves! While trying as hard as he could to discredit me, the writer said:  “Mr. Nwokoye who is a known apologist of Chris Ngige intentionally tucked away the fact that following the said gubernatorial elections of April 14, 2007, Chris Ngige and six other parties who contested in the gubernatorial election filed petitions at the tribunal calling for it to nullify the election on the strength of the petitions filed…..And for this reason it becomes an unfortunate fact to grapple with for the haters of Andy Uba and for the lovers of injustice. Because as it is clear that justice has been served, it is clear the haters of justices have mounted their podiums of propaganda to mouth off illogicalities aimed at deceiving the trusting.   “And as evident by Mr. Chukwudi Nwokoye’s write up, the haters of justice have taken to their podiums….” My consistent fight against oppression and injustice in Anambra State started from when Chinwoke Mbadinuju was the Governor. In my “Between Governor Mbadinuju and His Deadwoods” published in Nigeriaworld on Christmas Day of 2002, I was critical of Governor Mbadinuju for failure to pay the pensioners in the state and for his general non-performance. When the impending election that fraudulently brought Gov. Chri Ngige to office, I wrote another article titled: “Governor ‘Odera’ Mbadinuju: Time Is Ticking Away” published in Nigeriaworld on Friday March 21, 2003 . In the article, I said:  “We need a candidate that created wealth himself as he will be able to manage wealth. For if a candidate can create and manage his own wealth, he can as well be able to manage the state resources. A candidate that is his own man is what Anambra people need and not a candidate that would be ‘remote-controlled’ by his political god-father(s) cum sponsor(s) as witnessed in the cat and dog relationship between Obasanjo/Babangida, Mbadinuju/Offor and Nnamani/Nwobodo relationship etc. “Recently, Chief Chris Uba, a PDP stalwart in the state was reported to have said during the flagging off of Dr. Chris Ngige at Holy Trinity Cathedral field, Onitsha; that he “helped sponsor” Dr. Chris Ngige! What then do we expect if Dr. Ngige wins the election and few months after his inauguration, the same thing that happened to Mbadinuju after his own inauguration repeats itself? Every political sponsor demands a payback or a consideration; there is always a kind of quid pro quo. What happens if Ngige reneges on his own part of the bargain? Assuming Chief Uba’s payback comes in the name of exclusive nomination of all the Commissioners and Special Assistants? Are we ready to go through the same thing again? It’s always chaos! One single stick cannot blind a wise man two times….” Again I wrote another article titled:“ Save   Anambra   State From Anti-Democratic Forces” published on in Nigeriaworld on Tuesday May 6, 2003 in reaction to the monumental injustice meted to its own candidates by PDP. Also in Nigeriaworld on Monday July 7, 2003 , in another article titled: Save   Anambra   State from the Anti-Democratic Forces (Part II), I railed against the lawlessness of Chris Uba and the cabals when a sitting Governor, Chris Ngige, was bungled out of the Government House. When Governor Peter Obi was unconstitutionally impeached by the Pro-Andy Uba members of the House of Assembly, I wrote another article in Nigeriaworld, published on Tuesday November 14, 2006, titled: “Re: Governor Obi and Aftermath of Impeachment” in response to the one written on 4th November, 2006 by one Mr. Onuorah. I have written many articles after that which has been consistent with my principle and standards. My articles remain consistent with the principles of peace and prosperity in my beloved state. I have never wavered in my pursuit of peace on the foundation of justice. I have been in the trenches long before it became know to the all and sundry what is going on in the Anambra State .  It is on record that I have remained fair, firm and consistent in my positions. Unlike Mr. Ezenekwe and people of his kind, I am never pro or anti candidate “A” or “B”. I have always opposed the forces of injustice and oppression in my state, whether it came with Mbadinuju, Ngige, Chris Uba or his brother Andy. Mr. Ezenekwe and his spokesman’s attempt to make me guilty by association are laughable. He went on to say that:  “Reading through the beautiful piece submitted by Chukwudi Nwokoye, one would see he totally loses the essence of an impartial observer in his attempt at unintentionally misrepresenting his friend, Chris Ngige……..Chukwudi Nwokoye, who resides at the same town as did Chris Ngige when Chris Ngige was in the United States of America, is reported to be a legal practitioner of some sort…. To be clear, I have never spoken to Governor Chris Ngige or met him in person. I have never met anyone that knows anyone that knows him. Other than his appearance of TV and the picture of the Governor I see on the internet, I would not even know how Gov Ngige look like. I am my own man. The conclusion that since Ngige was staying somewhere around my area when he came for his treatment, that I met with him is to say the least, childish and does not even warrant a response. I don’t think that I have to know the Ngige in person to be able to know that in quite an ironical way, he liberated Anambra State from the shackles of god-fathers and people that never meant well for us. Ngige has opened the eyes of Anambrarians to the fact that government can really work! He has set a standard whereby every subsequent Anambra State government ought to meet to be considered successful after its tenure, and that's a positive thing. We have been in the dark for a long time and he kind of ripped the face of the masquarede for everyone to see their evil deeds. All my writings for or against Ngige is well documented and readers could help themselves. It is ridiculous. All this while, some people believe that I am a one of Governor Peter Obi’s men. Somebody has written me in the past, and to my greatest surprise, he asked me for Governor Obi’s contact number, to which my honest answer was that I did not know. Just few days ago after I wrote my first rejoinder to Mr. Ezenekwe’s article, another person after paying some compliments to my writings stated that he knew that I am one of Obi’s men. So, the latest one by Ezenekwe and his spokesman calling me Ngige’s apologist is beyond me. Their thinking is that if I am not Andy Uba’s man, I must be Ngige’s man or Peter Obi’s man. Mr. Ezenekwe and his spokesman are right, they do not know me. Unlike them, I cannot and will never in the future compromise my standards, no matter who is in power. I have what they do not have, which is called integrity. Good name, as the adage says, is better than silver and gold. I have my integrity and good name intact, and that is the greatest possession of mine. I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth. However, I was born and raised in a family where education, honesty, respect, integrity, hard work, personal virtue, perseverance, doggedness and fear of God are the guiding principles. We were instilled with the mantra “respect all but fear none” by my parents. Education is the greatest industry in my family and each member of my family strives to be the best in every profession we choose. Whoever knows me knows that my family is not moved by material acquisitions but by the content of one’s character. So obviously, they do not know anything about me or what I represent and cannot define me. I have already defined myself in my profession and my writings speak for themselves. I will not glorify with a response, their refering to me as a 'legal practitioner of some sort'. I do not blow my own trumpets to the high heavens. I think that I have done well. So their efforts to pigeonhole me with a particular candidate instead of with the Anambra people, so as to be on their woeful level do not fool anybody. We are the living proof of whom the haters of justice are and who want to twist its arms for their selfish ends. I do not hate Andy Uba as a person. What I am against is any form of injustice or oppression in my state, period. I have a cousin that lives a stone throw from me who went home to serve on Andy Uba’s government. He was in the inner caucus of his aborted government. When he was about to travel for the inauguration of Andy Uba’s government on May 29th 2007, I jokingly told him not to sell his house or any of his properties here because I know that he would come back after the Supreme Court must have ruled in Gov Obi’s favor, and throw their government out. When he came back after their government was sacked, I visited him and said “bros, I don’t know what to call you now. I don’t know whether to call you Commissioner Chuks or Special Adviser Chuks, please assist me to call you with the proper title.” It was a general laughter, but at the end of our long discussion about what happened, he still maintained that he would do the same thing over again and that he had no regrets whatsoever. I do not hate my cousin for his decision to serve in Andy Uba’s government; all I maintained was that his decision was misguided. He is entitled to his views and I am entitled to mine. So anyone that comes with the argument that somehow we that are in the trenches fighting for the rule of law as against the rule of force have personal hatred against Andy Uba and by extension, haters justice; is completely missing the point about what the fight is all about. It is not about personality but it is about principle. In order words, it is not personal fight against Andy Uba but against his modus oprendi. It amounts to the kettle calling the pot black, but Anambra people all over the world know whom their enemies are.  *Chukwudi Nwokoye Esq. writes in from Maryland, USA. nwokoyeac@hotmail.com