Stella Oduah Shuts Down Sack Rumour

Sequel to the rumours that the Lawmaker
Representing the good people of Anambra
North Senator Stella Oduah of the Peoples
Democratic Party has been sacked by the
Supreme Court.

It is pertinent to note that this is a mere
misinterpretation of the Supreme Court rulings
and should be disregarded in all entirety.  Find
below Extracts from the Supreme Court
Judgement as forwarded to the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC Tiled:
THE STATUS OF PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC
PARTY (PDP) SENATORS AND MEMBERS OF
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
_RE: JUDGMENT IN SC. 37/2015

"'Our clients were duly nominated by the
National Executive of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) for the 2015 General Election and
they contested the Election and were duly
returned as elected.
They were subsequently issued with their
respective Certificates of Return and have since
been performing the duties for which they were
elected by their respective constituents before
the election and during the nomination process,
the National Executive duly forwarded our
clients’ names which the Commission duly
received.
 Thereafter owing to some shenanigans by
some staff of the Commission whom our clients
believed were working for a self-styled State
Executive Committee which were determined
against the serene and settled position of the
law to sponsor candidates for the Peoples
Democratic party (PDP), our clients’ names
were relegated.
This created a situation whereby the legal
department of the Commission commenced
playing a “musical chair” with list of candidates
of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) when
they were fully aware that the only authority
that is competent to forward names of
candidates is the National Executive Committee
by virtue of correspondence signed by its
National Chairman and Secretary.
In two (2) remarkable pronouncements, the
Supreme Court of Nigeria eloquently held that
no list other than that forwarded by the National
Executive of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) shall be countenanced by the
Commission.
It is also on record that our Client appealed the
decision of the Federal High Court to the Court
of Appeal which set aside the decision. Upon an
appeal to the Supreme Court, the Supreme
Court on 29th January, 2016 allowed the
appeal.
This appeal has now excited some attention
and has been subjected to blatant and crude
misinterpretations which have necessitated this
correspondence.
 This correspondence is aimed at setting the
record straight so that your good self will not
again be misled by your legal department into
unjustifiably occasioning an unnecessary
confusion in the process.
The judgment under
reference is SC. 37 /2015: CHIEF EJIKE
OGUEBEGO & ANOR v. PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC
PARTY & ORS.
May I draw your attention to the most pertinent
segment of the Judgment for the purpose of the
status of the legislators sponsored by the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at pages 46,
47 and 48 of the Judgment where their
lordships of the Supreme Court held as follows:-
“The Court below, however, veered from the
course set by the trial court and took the matter
to another level which clearly failed to take into
consideration the main issue before the trial
court. On page 1291 of Volume 3 of the record
of appeal the Court of Appeal held as follows:-
“It is established beyond peradventure that it is
the National Executive Committee of the
appellant which has the power to conduct a
valid primary for the nomination or selection of
candidates for a general election.

Please Note the Following :

The Supreme Court did not order the withdrawal
of the Certificates of Return issued by the
Commission to our clients. They did not hold
that the faction of the PDP had the right to
sponsor candidates for the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP).
They did not equally authorize the Commission
to substitute our clients with the individuals
whose names were on the list improperly
allowed by the Commission in obvious
disregard of the series of judgments of the
Supreme Court of Nigeria to the effect that it is
only the National Executive of the party that
has the vires to sponsor candidates.