A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State, Mr. Silas Onu, has raised accusations against Governor Francis Nwifuru.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Onu alleges that Nwifuru violated the law by running in the March 11 governorship election as an All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate while maintaining his PDP membership and paying dues.
He made the allegations during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday.
Onu voiced these concerns in response to the tribunal’s decision, which upheld Nwifuru’s election victory. The legal expert contended that, according to Section 177 of the constitution, the APC could not endorse a PDP member for candidacy.
“What we are saying is that APC cannot sponsor a member of PDP as clearly provided under section 177(c),” he said.
Onu firmly maintains that Governor Nwifuru’s affiliation with the PDP is substantiated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) membership registry. He emphasised that this registry unequivocally displays the candidate’s name listed under the PDP rather than the APC.
When questioned about the tribunal’s ruling, which suggested that the case revolves around Nwifuru’s qualification, Onu firmly asserted, “It is indeed a question of qualification.”
According to him, at the time of the March election, “the individual we are discussing, Nwifuru, had consistently paid his membership dues to the PDP. In the party membership register supplied by INEC, his name is unmistakably affiliated with the PDP, not the APC.”
Onu expressed deep frustration with the legal system, asserting that it appeared to have undermined the intended impact of the law and the qualifications outlined in Section 177(c) of the constitution.
“The law is of no effect, qualification of Section 177(c) is of no use, so we should just delete that section,” he said.
