THE mood of the electorate in Ebonyi State has been vacillating since the conclusion of the April 2011 election. First there was a rash of petitions at the election petitions tribunal challenging the results of National Assembly, State House of Assembly and the governorship election. But the petition that held public attention was that against the reelection of Martin Elechi, the governor.There had never been a determined opposition to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since 1999. There was however a shift when some of the PDP faithful in charge of affairs before the 2007 election, left PDP for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and All Nigeria Peoples Party, (ANPP). Erstwhile Minister of Culture and Tourism Franklin Ogbuewu contested the governorship of the state on the APGA platform, Senator Julius Ali Ucha, contested the April 26 governorship election on the ticket of ANPP.Two major issues made Ucha's ambition resonant. Former governor of Abia State, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, became the national Chairman of ANPP. Secondly, the fact that Ucha, a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, was prevailed upon by then governor, Dr Sam Egwu to step down for Elechi in the PDP, made the people expect an epic battle.Poor marketing dogged Elechi's second term ambition and many people in the state wondered why he was seeking another term. However after the election on April 26, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) announced Elechi as the validly elected candidate. But other parties cited irregularities including inducement, violence and mass thumb printing of ballot papers.Although the ANPP went to the tribunal to set aside the INEC declaration, signs that all was not going to be easy emerged on September 10, 2011 when the tribunal refused to admit the video evidence and report of forensic analysis of the ballot papers used for the gubernatorial poll.The Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Nuhu Y. Galadanci noted that the tribunal decided to reject the documents after careful consideration of the objections of the respective counsels for the respondents. He stated among other views that, 'we again hold that no where in the petition had the petitioners pleaded or alluded to their intention to undertake scientific analysis of thumb printed ballot papers. The law is strict that the essence of pleading is to put the other party on notice of the case he is coming to meet in court.'Soon after Ucha's counsel declared their intention to test the tribunal's judgment at a Appeal Court, some clergy men under the aegis of Concerned Clergy of Ebonyi State published a notice in a newspaper alleging that the judgment was purchased. The Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) Ebonyi chapter however described the group as imposters. In a press statement CAN leaders led by Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Nshii contended that the publication in the newspaper was designed to 'arm-twist the tribunal into doing the bidding of the opposition.'The Minority Leader in the House of Assembly, Enyi Chukwuma Enyi, said that he hoped that the judiciary would not bring their fame to ridicule. Three weeks after, his election upturned. The Chairman of the House of National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Henry Olusiyi, ruled that the PDP candidate, Deacon Nworji of was the rightful winner of the election, 'with the highest number of votes in the election.'The victory for PDP continued. But if other judgments were received some element of equanimity, that of the tribunal upholding the election of the senator representing Ebonyi Central Senatorial zone, Senator Paulinus Igwe Nwagu, dashed the hope of the other parties.Apart from Ucha, the ANPP candidate for the senatorial election, Innocent Ugo Chima, was one of the few candidates prepared financially to stand election. He prayed the tribunal to invalidate the election of Nwagu and declare him the elected candidate in the senatorial election. But Justice Olusiyi ruled that the petitioner failed to prove the allegations of irregularities in 147 polling units in seven wards of the constituency and non-compliance with the electoral Act 2010 as amended.He ruled that the tribunal was not bound by the forensic analysis carried out by the petitioners, which he said lacked validity as it was not based on any scientific evidence.The harvest of reversal of fortunes for the other parties hit its turning point when the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu threw out the appeal lodged by Ucha, citing lack of merit. The blow on Ucha's petition seemed to have defined the many withdrawal of petitions by some of the party's candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives seats.Ucha had approached the Appeal Court praying it to allow him file additional witnesses and their depositions following the refusal of the tribunal to admit video evidence and report of forensic analyses of ballot papers used during the election. Ucha also sought the leave of the court above to tender as evidence his unpleaded forensic analysis and expert report of electoral materials used in the conduct of the April 26, election in the state.The ANPP had hinged its hope to reverse the return of Elechi on the video evidence and forensic analysis so much so that its minority leader in the state House of Assembly, boasted that the PDP was holding brief for ANPP in the Executive.But throwing away the plea to file additional witnesses and a declarative order for the admission of the electronic evidence and report of expert analysis of voting materials, the Appeal Court headed by Justice Abdul-Kadir in company of Justice Okoro, Lokulu Sodipe, Yakubu and Oseji, described the appeal by ANPP as 'unmeritorious and lacking in judicial competence.'Though the Appeal panel reserved reasons for its ruling for a later date, it awarded costs against the appellants noting that the business of electoral adjudication was a serious one that should not entertain frivolities or abuse of process.However the state chairman of ANPP, Emerike Orji, said that the refusal of the court to admit the evidence suggests a calculated attempt to demoralise the party's candidates from pursuing their cases saying, 'never mind, the case is still as strong as with the forensic evidence.'But reacting to the Appeal Court ruling, the State Chairman of PDP, Prince Ugorji Ama Oti hailed the ruling as being in line with the provisions of the Constitution pointing out that in the 'present democratic dispensation, it was not possible for anyone to seek justice through the back door.'But while the dingdong continued at the tribunals, elsewhere, the issue of the minimum wage raised public anger against Elechi and the PDP. Many people expected that with his return for a second term, the governor would have begun to look in the direction of ameliorating the hardship the people faced. Some queried why the governor was not in a hurry to sack coordinators of development centres just like he vacillated in sacking his former cabinet.Words started making the rounds that faced with the rigours of winning a second term especially with deception by aides, Elechi had sworn to tighten the noose on the state's finances. Others speculated that much money went into the funding of the election such that time was needed to recoup. Sources said Elechi is determined to ensure the competition of Ocho Udo, a situation that was blamed for the stifling of funds in other sectors.But as some people accuse the government of being less forthcoming on information about its activities or intentions, public apathy rose with attendant vilification of the administration.It was therefore against such curious background that some Christian faithful from the All Saints Anglican Church, Abakaliki, led by one Evangelist Ephraim Ononye, undertook what many styled the broom revolution in Ebonyi. Though the church members that took part in the 'early morning sanitation; sweeping of evil forces away' numbering a little above 1,800 said they were chasing away evil spirits, sources said the exercise arose out of citizen frustration in the socio-economic condition in the state.The leader of the procession, Evangelist Ononye told journalists that the church decided to carry out the public renunciation to alert the state government that the people were no longer happy with the state of things in the state.The protesters contended that life had been unbearably hard in the state within the past four years stressing that the level of poverty was alarming. Initially, passers by had mistaken the church members for members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which had the broom as its symbol. But according to Ononye, the leader of the group, 'the broom is a symbol of cleansing. We are not party members and we are not on the streets on behalf of any party. Ebonyi is more backward than other states in the South East zone. People are crying and suffering. We demand that the government and the governed should embrace change.'He added that the power in the public procession would usher in light to chase away the darkness enveloping the state. At the Onwe Road roundabout Evangelist Ononye said the symbolism of going round the roundabout is that change is around the corner adding that anointed men of God are praying for the liberation of Ebonyi from 'forces of darkness'.The State Secretary of PDP, Uche Ali Ega, told The Guardian that the basic challenge facing the state is to ensure that people in responsible offices emulate the governor. He pointed out that the attempt is made through the councils and state joint account to ensure that social amenities are provided for the people. He claimed that the party has put a mechanism to evaluate the performance of its elected officials explaining that the measure was aimed at plugging loopholes and enhancing performance.The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Chike Onwe, in his reaction noted that handouts from government do not drive the economy adding that there was need for the people to join hands with government.
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