A man named Mr. Ogechukwu Onyema, who placed third in the senatorial primary race for Enugu West, which Ekweremadu won on October 2, 2018, has moved to replace him while Senator Ike Ekweremadu (PDP Enugu West) remains in prison custody in Britain amid allegations of organ harvesting.
Since Ekweremadu had been absent for three continuous months and had no obvious chance of recovering before the 9th Senate’s term ended in June 2023, Onyema had already filed a declaratory judgment petition with a high court in Enugu.
However, Mr. Isaac Okah, a former Director from the Enugu state Civil Service, undermined Onyema’s initiative on Thursday. Someone claimed to have finished second in the Peoples Democratic Party’s 2018 Enugu West senatorial primary election (PDP).
Contrary to Onyema’s allegation in the affidavit deposed, that he is deceased, Mr. Okah stated in a personally signed statement that he is very much alive.
He lampooned Onyema for not being human in his desire for power by wishing him dead and Ekweremadu not to get over his ordeal in faraway London.
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He added that he wondered why as a lawyer, Onyema does not know the process through which vacant seats in the Senate or any other parliament can be replaced.
The claim that Ogechukwu Onyema had lied stated, in part, “My attention has been drawn to Suit No. FHC/EN/CS/7/2022 filed by Sir Ogochukwu A.U. Onyema praying the Federal High Court Enugu to declare vacant the Enugu West Senatorial Seat currently occupied by Senator Ike Ekweremadu and to command and mandate the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to select, “Sir O.A.U Onyema equally seeks the order of the court commanding and mandating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to “withdraw or revoke, as the case may be, the Certificate of Return earlier issued to the 3rd defendant (Ekweremadu) and issue a fresh Certificate of Return” to him as “the only available runner-up” that can validly be nominated as Senator Ekweremadu’s replacement.
“It becomes imperative to state that I polled 84 votes at the October 2018 PDP primary election for Enugu West Senatorial District to place second behind Distinguished Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who polled 690 votes to emerge, the winner, while O.A.U Onyema mustered 61 votes to place third.
“However, to further his case, O.A.U lied on oath by deposing to an affidavit that the 1st runner-up, being my humble self, is dead, hence purportedly leaving him as the only available runner up.
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“I wish to unequivocally clear that I, Mr. Isaac Okah, a retired Director in the Federal Civil Service, am alive, well, and running my private business.
“It is a shame that naked and unbridled ambition has pushed O.A.U Onyema into the sacrilege of wishing his fellow man dead.”
