An Abuja Federal High Court had on Monday annulled the election of Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu for alleged tax evasion and also ordered INEC to issue Ogah with Certificate of Return.
Explaining why Ogah was issued with the Certificate of Return, INEC’s National Commissioner, in charge of the South East, Amb. Lawrence Nwuruku said the commission only heeded to a Federal High Court order.
Nwuruku stated that he could go to jail if he acted otherwise, stressing that if the valid court order was later reversed, INEC would not hesitate to act accordingly.
He said, “The situation is that we are simply obeying the court order. The court said with immediate effect, without wasting time, we should issue him Certificate of Return and that is what we have done – to obey the court order. If the court tomorrow issues another order, we would obey the same. By the grace of God, I am the INEC Commissioner in charge of South East.
“If court says we should issue the same certificate to another person, I will do same. In this case, court ordered us to issue a Certificate of Return to the person who won the election and that is Uche Ogah.
“I was the person who gave the Certificate of Return to Gov. Ikpeazu as he was declared winner. Now, the court has said otherwise. One thing we know is that we are not above the law and we cannot disobey the laws of the land. After the court, another person we obey in our land is God and my conscience is my God. Another thing that guides us is the court and we must obey its order with immediate effect.”
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