By
Peter Moses, Abakaliki
The Executives and members of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC in Ebonyi have commended the effort of the National leadership of the council which stopped the purported election of the council, allegedly scheduled to hold in the state today.
The Ebonyi State chapter of the IPAC was rumoured to be holding another election on Saturday, just in less than nine months after its official election in the state.
In his reaction, the Acting Chairman of the IPAC in the State, Comrade Ernest Nwaze declared that there was nothing like another election of the council, as the elected executives on 4th February 2022 have not completed their two years tenureship as encapsulated by the IPAC code of conduct.
He described the attempt to conduct another election when the tenure of the elected officials in the state has not ended as the handiwork of the mischievous elements in the council.
He commended the national chairman and other officials of the IPAC for their timely intervention which cancelled the purported election in the state.
He maintained the failed planned IPAC election in the state, “was a rumour because there was no election of IPAC that is taking place today.”
Nwaze further explained that “IPAC conducted the election on 4th February 2022, and people were elected into office that will run for a two-year tenure.
“It was formerly, a yearly something, but the new IPAC code, now extended it to two years tenure, and Egbeola Wale Martins who was the chairman of the electoral committee that conducted the 4th February election, and also the National Organising Secretary of the IPAC, announced himself that the people being elected, were elected into two-year tenure office.
“After the election, we were immediately inaugurated and then, one James Obasi was elected the chairman while my humble self, was elected the deputy chairman of the IPAC.
“By the virtue of James Obasi losing the chairmanship position of his party – Action Alliance, AA, he lost his chairmanship position in IPAC, which now upgraded me as the acting Chairman.
He alleged that “After the election, the PDP invited Egbeola Wale Martins, with Chinyere Oge Kalu, who was the chairman and Secretary of that committee and induced them into believing that they can cancel the election. They went to Abuja to justify the inducement, Wale Martins constituted himself and his accomplices into what they called Kangaroo Appeal Committee, to nullify the election.
“After that, the petition which they claimed to have stood to nullify the election, was not served to me, and even the former chairman. None of the elected executives of IPAC in this state was served. We were not even allowed to come and defend the petition.
“The same Martins who was the chairman of the electoral committee was the one that submitted the petition against the election he conducted. He also sat on the Appeal Committee and now influenced others to pronounce that they nullified the election.
“When I heard about that, I petition the said Martins to the National Chairman of the IPAC, and he didn’t look into it, they delayed the procurement and at the end, I saw that they were already frustrating me and the other executives, due to Martins’ influence while we go to the Court to challenge the purported nullification of our election.
“They were duly served, it’s left for the court to tell us whether what they did was right or wrong. It’s because of their ulterior motives, and sinister and mischievous intentions that now made them bent on coming to conduct another election.
“But just like I said, they have seen reasons from the National to call off the purported election. From what you can see now, there was no election of the IPAC in Ebonyi State today. We are waiting for the court pronouncement, to uphold that our election on 4th February 2022 was peaceful and credible. This election was monitored by all the security agencies, DSS, Police, Civil Defence and INEC.
“These agencies report that the election was conducted fair, free and credible. So, I don’t know why Wale Martins should be bent on causing a crisis in IPAC leadership in Ebonyi State. We have one IPAC in Ebonyi State, undivided, a united IPAC.”
The acting Chairman however urged the members of IPAC in the state to go about their normal businesses, maintaining that “there is nothing like another election in IPAC, our tenure will run for two years, and after the expiration of our tenure, whosoever that is interested to conduct the election should do so.”
On her part, Comrade Mrs Jennifer Adibe-Nwafor, the Special Assistant to the Ebonyi State Governor on Inter-party and Labour Matters, also commended the National leadership of the IPAC for having not allowed any other election to be conducted in the state, while the tenure of the elected officials has not elapsed.
“I commended the National leadership of the IPAC, for having not allowed any other election to be conducted in the state.
“I thank the national chairman for hearkening to the cry of the state chairman, that there is peace in the state and the previous election was conducted peacefully,” she said.
She said explained that “the IPAC in the state has been peaceful, and we will continue to be peaceful.
“Just like you guys monitored the election of the IPAC on February 4th, 2022, where, the present people were elected, they were sworn in and charged to operate for the two years.
“Their tenure has not elapsed and as you can see, it was one or two party Chairmen were saying that they would come to do election today, but no election is holding now.”
She, however, appealed to the national leadership of the IPAC to continue to uphold the truth, ‘and not to be induced by anything, but to follow the right path, till the tenure of the elected officials lapsed, before coming to conduct another election in the state.’
She urged the members of the IPAC to continue being peaceful while going about their legitimate businesses in the state.
Meanwhile, Bishop Constant Chijioke Edward of the Action People’s Party, APP and other Ebonyi IPAC members while interacting with newsmen said they were surprised when they got the information about the purported election and equally appealed to the National leadership of the council to give the state executives all necessary backing to complete their tenure before another election.