Nigeria Political terrain is difficult to predict, especially when some issues require the involvement of the judiciary. The court may sack a politician or party that won an election and replace it with another with lower votes based on some facts and conditions. The case of Imo state, where Governor Hope Uzodinma was declared the governor-elect, is a case study....CONTINUE READING
There are some actions that do take place before a general election. The conduction of party primaries to elect the flagbearer of the party is one of them. In normal circumstances, anyone who wins the primaries automatically becomes the party’s flag bearer. Unfortunately, the reverse might sometimes be the case.
Do you know that the former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, was not even on the ballot before he won his first tenure election as the state governor? Many people may find it unbelievable, but the truth remains that the ex-governor was not the candidate the people voted for during the 2007 governorship election in the state.
How then, did Rotimi Amaechi become the Governor-elect of the state without being on the ballot in 2007?
Rotimi Amaechi was declared the winner of the Rivers State 2007 governorship election because of the failure of his former party, the Peoples Democratic Party, to follow due process in producing the flagbearer of the party.
Before the election, the PDP conducted its primary election in the state as mandated by the Nigeria constitution and just like other parties. In the primary, Rotimi Amaechi, Celestine Ngozichim, and a host of other politicians in the party competed. Amaechi won the primary election after securing the highest number of votes and has started preparing to compete with other aspirants from other parties in the governorship election. Unfortunately, his party, the PDP, struck out his name and replaced it with that of Celestine Ngozichim’s as the party’s Governorship flagbearer.
Celestine Ngozichim contested and won the governorship election and was sworn in. However, Rotimi Amaechi approached the court to annul the election of Celestine Ngozichim and remove his name as the bonafide flagbearer of the party. The case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, and the court ruled in favour of Rotimi Amaechi and sacked Celestine Ngozichim as the Governor-elect.
Celestine Ngozichim was only able to spend five months as the governor of Rivers State after his rigourous campaign and spending of money before he handed over to Rotimi Amaechi, whose name was not on the ballot in the 2007 governorship election in the state.
What is your take about this judgement where a person campaigned and spend money for an election and his seat was given to another person whose name was not on the ballot?