From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Governor of Enugu State, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, has said he remains the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) candidate in the Enugu East senatorial election.
Nnamani, in a statement, on Wednesday, described his expulsion from the PDP as “ruse”, stating that he was duly cleared
by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the senatorial election scheduled for Saturday.
The former governor, according to the statement, has written to the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, through his counsel, Rickey Tarfa ( SAN), to say that he has not withdrawn from the contest.
He argued that the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) cannot unilaterally remove him from the contest because his expulsion is already subject of litigation pending before the Federal High Court in suit No.FHC/ABJ/CS/163/2023.
Consequently, Nnamani,in his letter to the INEC boss noted that “it is also important for the commission to note and be well guided that by the virtue of section 33 of the electoral Act , a political party cannot on its own arbitrarily remove or change its candidate whose name has been submitted and published by the commission for an election except in the event of death or withdrawal by the candidate.
“Section 33 of the electoral Act, 2022, which provides as follows:
A political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted under section 29 of the electoral Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate, provided that in the case of such withdrawal or death of a candidate, the political party affected shall within 14 days of the occurrence of the event , hold a fresh primary election to produce and submit a fresh candidate to INEC for the election concern .
“Clearly , following the above provisions, the powers of a political party to solely remove or change its candidate following the submission and publication of his name by the commission is restricted only to instances of withdrawal or death of the candidate which is not applicable in the present circumstance.
“Accordingly , we must humbly urge the commission to discountenance the request of the NWC of the PDP to removal or change of our client as a candidate of the PDP for the 2023 general elections for the Enugu East Senatorial District following his alleged expulsion from the party .
“We trust that the commission will be properly advised by the terms of our letter herein in taking a position that fosters the rule of law among the parties herein, and especially not to undermine the powers and authority of the court “.