Posted by By LUCKY NWANKWERE, Abuja on
The Presidency yesterday applauded the ruling of the Appeal Court, Enugu which nullified the election of Dr. Chris Ngige as governor of Anambra, describing it as a vindication of President Olusegun Obasanjo's stand on the issue all along.
The Presidency yesterday applauded the ruling of the Appeal Court, Enugu which nullified the election of Dr. Chris Ngige as governor of Anambra, describing it as a vindication of President Olusegun Obasanjo's stand on the issue all along.
Saying there is no place for election riggers in the new Nigeria that is fast evolving, it explained that the former governor lost the moral right to continue in office as governor of the state the very day he admitted to the president of rigging the election that purportedly brought him into office.
The special assistant to the president on public affairs, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode who reacted to Ngige's ouster yesterday described the ruling as a demonstration of courage by the judiciary and welcomed Ngige's opponent and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Mr. Peter Obi on board the state's administration.
"We felicitate with Peter Obi and we also commend the courage of the Nigerian Judiciary. We hope that Peter Obi will be able to provide for the good people of Anambra State, the type of good quality of leadership that has been provided by Mr. President for the whole nation", he stated.
He said the Presidency's position was informed by President Obasanjo's experience some months ago when he said the dethroned Governor Ngige confessed to him (Obasanjo) that the election in his state was rigged.
Even though Ngige was still a member of the PDP at the time, he said the president immediately alerted the whole country to the development and equally reported the matter to the party which immediately investigated and found Ngige guilty of the act and accordingly expelled him.
"As far as we are concerned, this is a total vindication of what Mr. President told the whole nation a few months back that Ngige had rigged the election. Now, Mr. President has been proved right and we thank God that the rule of law is alive and well in Nigeria," he pointed out.
Asked if the Presidency is not worried that the ruling party had by that verdict lost one state to another party, Fani-Kayode said what mattered more to the Presidency was the removal from office of a cheat and an election rigger.
"The most important thing is that the man that rigged the election has been exposed and removed from office as a consequence of his criminal act. If you remember the PDP as a party not only dissociated itself from his nefarious and sinister activity, but also expelled him as a consequence of his blatant rigging.
"Therefore, this is not a loss for the PDP, because he was no longer part of us, but rather it is a triumph for the rule of law and the confirmation of the fact that we have a president who will always expose evil and corruption and election riggers whenever such practices are brought to his attention, no matter whose ox is gored," he further stated.
On whether it was not Chris Uba instead who confessed to have rigged the Anambra election in favour of Ngige for which he even apologized, the presidential aide said "Mr. President had told the nation that Ngige admitted to him that he rigged the election and even though at that time Ngige and Uba were still members of the PDP, Mr. President did not hesitate for one moment before exposing the whole thing to the Nigerian public and to his own political party, the PDP."