INEC justifies issuance of certificate of return to Ogah

The Independent National Electoral Commission
has told a Federal High Court in Abuja that it
issued a certificate of return to Uche Ogah, on
June 28, recognising him as governor-elect of
Abia State, in compliance with the order made in
the judgment of the court delivered June 27.
The INEC said this through its lawyer, Mr.
Alhassan Umar, when a motion seeking a stay of
the execution of the judgment sacking Okezie
Ikpeazu as the governor of the state and also
ordering the issuance of certificate of return to
Ogah came up for hearing on Monday.
The motion for stay of execution of the judgment
came up for hearing before Justice Okon Abang,
who had delivered the verdict on June 27.
Umar was reacting to an application by Ikpeazu’s
lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), for
adjournment of the hearing of his client’s motion,
till Thursday.
The lawyer said INEC had already issued the
certificate of return before the processes of the
notice of appeal against the judgment and a
motion for stay of execution of the judgment,
both filed by Ikpeazu, were served on the
commission.
He added that the notice of appeal and the
motion for stay of execution of the judgment did
not operate as a stay of execution of a court’s
verdict in a pre-election case.
According to him, the law will expressly state so
if it intends to make a notice of appeal to
operate as a stay of execution in a pre-election
case.
He pointed out that why a notice of appeal
operated as a stay of execution of a judgment
delivered by an election petition tribunal in an
election petition was because it was expressly
provided for under section 143(1) of the Electoral
Act.
“My lord ordered the third defendant to issue
certificate of return forthwith and upon service of
the order, my lord, on June 28, 2016, the 3rd
defendant issued a certificate of return
accordingly,” Umar said.
“The certificate of return was issued before we
were served with the motion on June 28. We had
issued the certificate upon being served with the
court order.
“But the actual presentation of the certificate
was on June 30. But we had complied with the
order of my lord.”
Justice Abang had sacked Ikpeazu for allegedly
disclosing false information in relation to his tax
clearance details to the Independent National
Electoral Commission in his form nominating him
as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party
for the last year’s governorship election in the
state.