*As Chris Uba’s lawyer writes INEC on withdrawal of certificates of return

By Joseph Erunke

ABUJA—THE two remaining embattled senators from Anambra State, Senators Andy Uba and Stella Oduah yesterday made a bold appearance in the National Assembly to disprove assertions of their removal from office.

The two senators who were reported by some media channels to have been removed from office on account of the judicial affirmation of the Ejike Oguebego faction of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, also attended their committees’ meetings unhindered.


Their action nonetheless, lawyer to the Oguebego faction, Chris Uche, SAN yesterday, wrote the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, asking the body to withdraw the certificates of return issued to Andy Uba and Oduah. Uche in the letter sighted by Vanguard also asked the commission to issue certificates of return to the nominees presented by the Oguebego faction.

Senator Uba, PDP Anambra South attended the meeting of the Senate Joint Committees on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions yesterday while Oduah, PDP, Anambra North was in her office attending to visitors and files on her table.

Their presence at the National Assembly caught the attention of staff and visitors, following news reports at the weekend of their sack from office on account of the Supreme Court judgment on the supremacy battle between the contending factions of the PDP in Anambra State.

The letter from the Oguebego faction addressed to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, was titled “Compliance with judgement of Supreme Court Anambra state PDP National Assembly Candidates SC/37/2015-Ejike Oguebego and Anor vs Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, dated January 29, 2016.

The letter was also copied the Chairman, Legal Services Committee, INEC Headquarters, Abuja; the Director, Legal services department INEC, Ibrahim Bawa, SAN, and Hassan Liman, SAN, INEC lead counsel.

Uche stated that the effect of the Supreme Court judgment is that those who were not part of the list of candidates produced by the congress/primary elections under the watch of Oguebego and his executive committee ought and must vacate the positions they occupy at present on the grounds that they were not validly nominated.

The names of Chris Ubah, Annie Okonkwo and 42 others were replaced following the appellate court judgment of 6th February 2015, just before the 2015 general elections.

According to Uche, it is the responsibility of INEC to enforce and comply with the said judgement, saying there was no other primary election conducted by PDP to produce candidates other than the one that produced his clients.

The letter reads in part: “the effect of the Supreme Court judgment consequently is that all those who were not part of the list of candidates produced by the congress/primary elections that the Ejike Oguebego and his executive committee participated in, and monitored by INEC ought and must vacate the positions they presently occupy having not been validly nominated.

“In the light of the foregoing, we therefore demand that your commission complies promptly with the said judgment of the Supreme Court by issuing forthwith Certificates of Returns to our clients as the authentic and legitimate candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party for Anambra state who won the election, the entire gamut of litigation having been exhausted.

“We look forward to your timely cooperation and compliance.”

A panel of the Supreme Court, had last Friday,in Abuja, reaffirmed the earlier Federal High Court’s verdict, declaring the Oguebego-led PDP as the recognised executive in Anambra State.

The Oguebego faction had masterminded the National Assembly primaries which threw up a separate list of National Assembly aspirants as candidates of the party for the election. Among them is Chief Chris Uba the putative leader of the faction, a brother to Senator Andy Uba who had emerged as Senatorial candidate for Anambra South in rivalry to his brother.

The apex court in its judgment on Friday upheld the earlier decision by Justice Chukwu of the Federal High Court that the Oguebego-led faction as the validly elected leadership of the state chapter of the party.

In December 2014, the Federal High Court had ruled that it was only the constitutionally recognized state party leadership led by Ejike Oguebego that could organize the party primaries.

ABUJA—The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has warned that participation in the National Service and attendance of Law School simultaneously is illegal and unacceptable.


This is part of resolutions at 2016 Annual Management Conference of the Scheme, in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

The conference noted that “the NYSC Act provides for uninterrupted service year, and advised prospective Corps members to choose which one to defer between National Service and Law School attendance instead of attempting to combine both. Parents of prospective Corps members have also been advised by the conference to allow their children take decisions as adults and avoid discouraging them from accepting postings to any locations in the country.

According to the resolutions: “Management also noted the return of normalcy in some states whose orientation camps were closed due to insecurity, and expressed readiness to make phased reopening of the camps after due consultations with security agencies and governments of the affected states.”

The conference resolved to deepen engagements with key stakeholders, including the security and intelligence community and traditional rulers on matters of security and general well-being of Corps members.

Beginning from the 2016 Batch ‘A’ Orientation, as agreed by the conference, Corps members would be sensitized on national attitudinal change.

It was also agreed that the policy on posting of the corps members to places of primary assignment would be reviewed to meet contemporary needs.

Participants resolved that the Scheme would set up committees to study strategies for tackling challenges posed by the increasing population of corps members as espoused in a research report presented at the conference.

A 49-year-old pastor, identified only as Bassey, has reportedly slashed his throat after he was accused by his church members of diverting funds for personal use.

It was learnt that the incident happened last Monday around 5am on Abari Street in the Mulero, Dopemu area of Lagos.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the suicide was reported to the police at the Dopemu divison, and policemen deposited his remains in a morgue, while his wife, called Iya Emmanuel, and son, Emmanuel, were arrested in connection with the incident.

It was learnt that the pastor had written a short note, stating that his family was not complicit in his death.

A police source told our correspondent that preliminary investigation revealed that the pastor was frustrated after he was accused by the church of diverting the undisclosed sum.

“The knife used by the pastor to kill himself has been recovered. He also wrote that he killed himself. We learnt that he was accused by his church of diverting money. He was probably frustrated because his neighbours described him as a God-fearing and honest person. We are still trying to find out the actual amount involved,” the source said.

A neighbour, who identified herself as Seun Oladimeji, said the pastor had been awake in the night, walking around the passage. She said a note, which read, “I, myself, not my wife”, was found in the family’s room after his death.

“I don’t know whether he (pastor) did it because of the money issue, but he and his wife were very friendly. He woke up around 3am that day. I learnt his wife and son, Emmanuel, later begged him to go back to bed. At about 5am, the woman screamed for help. We all gathered in their room and saw blood gushing out of the pastor’s neck.

“Unknown to the woman, he hid a knife which he used to slash his throat. Before he died, he wrote on a piece of paper ‘I, myself, not my wife’. I can say it anywhere that it was not his wife who killed him. The son was just crying; he was not himself. Both of them were arrested.”

Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the pastor and his wife had a good relationship with each other, adding that she did not believe his family members had a hand in his death.

He said, “Pastor helped his wife with her hair before the incident. They really loved each other. Most times, while the wife washed clothes, he would be spreading it on the line.”

Another resident, Mr. Olatunde Olasunbo, said the pastor moved to the area with his family two years ago.

“I did not know his church, but he was God-fearing and very nice. He was always with his bible. Even if he diverted the church funds, suicide is not the solution. He and his wife related like siblings. They moved to this area two years ago,” he added.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident via a text message, adding that the case had been transferred to the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba.

“Case transferred to the SDCI for further investigation,” she stated in the text.