A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in Ebonyi State, Silas Onu, has alleged that the state’s governor, Francis Nwifuru, who was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was still a member of the PDP until the 2023 general elections in March.
Reacting to the outcome of the Ebonyi state governorship election tribunal, Onu faulted the judgment of the tribunal, stating that Governor Nwifuru contravened the law by contesting under the All Progressives Congress (APC) while still paying PDP membership dues up until March when the governorship election was held.
Onu maintained that Nwifuru’s status as a PDP member is supported by the INEC membership registry.
The legal practitioner, who appeared on the Friday edition of Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, argued that the APC could not sponsor a member of the PDP based on Section 177 of the constitution.
“What we are saying is that APC cannot sponsor a member of the PDP as clearly provided under Section 177(c),” he said.
According to him, as of March, when the election took place, “this man [Nwifuru] we are talking about paid his membership dues in the PDP. In the membership register of parties obtained from INEC, this name is not under the APC; his name is under the PDP.”
Onu expressed frustration with the legal system, stating that the law’s intended effect and the qualifications outlined in Section 177(c) of the constitution appeared to have been rendered ineffective.
“The law is of no effect; the qualification of Section 177(c) is of no use, so we should just delete that section,” he said.
