The Omo-Oje-led AA had chosen Ifeanyi Chukwuka as its candidate for the constituency while another faction of the party led by Kenneth Udeze picked Igbokwe.
A factional candidate of the Action Alliance (AA) in the 2023 National Assembly election for Bende Federal Constituency, Ifeanyi Igbokwe, has called on the Inspector General of Police and Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), to fish out those allegedly impersonating him in court over the outcome of the election.
AA led by Adekunle Omo-Aje recently filed a notice of appeal challenging the judgement of the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal in Umuahia, Abia State which upheld the election of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu.
The party had petitioned the tribunal following the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload the name of its candidate submitted for the Bende federal constituency of Abia state.
The Omo-Oje-led AA had chosen Ifeanyi Chukwuka as its candidate for the constituency while another faction of the party led by Kenneth Udeze picked Igbokwe.
AA has been engulfed in a leadership crisis since before the 2023 general elections.
In a judgment delivered on November 4, 2022, Justice Zainab Abubakar of the Federal High Court asked INEC to recognise Omo-Aje as the party's national chairman.
The court also ordered INEC to discountenance all the candidates submitted to it by Udeze, who was sacked as the party’s chairman by another court.
It then ordered INEC “to upload and display the names of the applicant’s candidates for the 2023 general election which had been forwarded to the respondent as its candidate for the said general election”.
However, Udeze filed an application before the same court seeking to reverse the judgment on the grounds that the other faction had deceived the court.
Abubakar reaffirmed her verdict of November 4, adding that Udeze cannot lay claim to the chairmanship of the party since he had been sacked by a Federal High Court in Abeokuta as well as two subsisting judgments of the Court of Appeal.
The two judgments of the Court of Appeal were delivered on January 7, 2022, and November 11, 2022, respectively, while the ruling by the Federal High Court in Abeokuta was delivered on September 8, 2022.
Abubakar held that her earlier judgment delivered on November 4 was not obtained by fraud as claimed by Udeze.
The judge described Udeze as a “meddlesome interloper” trying to interfere in the affairs of the party from which he was suspended and later expelled.
Aggrieved by the dismissal of his application at the Federal High Court, Udeze went to the Court of Appeal.
Dongban-Mensem, President of the Appeal Court, in the lead ruling, held that Udeze was wrong to have initiated the appeal in the name of the AA and also listed the party as a respondent.
However, Igbokwe, who is the candidate of the Udeze-led faction at a press conference in Abuja on Sunday insisted he did not file any legal suit at the tribunal to contest the outcome of the election.
He added that he had long accepted the victory of the ruling All Progressives Congress candidate, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, who is the current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The politician stated that he had followed up the matter with a petition to the Inspector General of Police and the DSS Director requesting the arrest and prosecution of those impersonating him because it was a criminal matter.
He said, “The essence of this press conference is to tell the whole world that I did not file any legal suit at the Tribunal to contest the outcome of the election. I have long accepted the victory of Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu who is now Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“But to my greatest chagrin, I have continued to read the reports of a legal suit surreptitiously filed by my humble self against Kalu. I came here to say that for the umpteenth time, I did not file again legal action against Kalu and I have cried out to the security authorities that I was Impersonated.
“Gentlemen of the media, it may interest you to know that when we first got the wind of this matter, I went to the Tribunal in Umuahia, Abia State capital with my lawyers to know who filed the case. To everybody's surprise, no one else other than me boldly showed up to say he/she is Hon. Ifeanyi Chukwuka Igbokwe. I further learnt that those impersonating me also had their lawyers present in court. But before the Tribunal could call up the case, the lawyers had disappeared. We filed our briefs and the Tribunal later dismissed the matter.
“I followed it up with a petition to the IGP, and the Director of the Department of State Service (DSS) requesting the arrest and the prosecution of my impersonators because it was a criminal matter. I have every document which I have forwarded to the IG’s office. The state chairman of the party, Tony Orji and the National Chairman of Action Alliance, AA, Adekunle Omo-Oje were indicted in the matter. I expected the police not to treat the issue lightly since it is a case of impersonation but nothing has happened so far.
“But I was surprised when my attention was drawn to a publication by Sahara Reporters accusing the Deputy Speaker, Kalu of instigating the police of inviting the AA national party Chairman for questioning. This is totally wrong. It was misdirected. I want to clearly state here that I was the one that filed the petition at the IG’s office against my party leadership. It's a case criminal case of impersonation and I must follow the case to the latter regardless of who is involved. It is my integrity that is at stake here and not that of anyone else. They will have to face the law because they don’t mean well for my political career.
“While they are yet to honour the police invitation, I have learnt that the same people have filed an appeal in my name again against Kalu. Gentlemen of the press, this is very serious. I hereby emphatically state that I know nothing about the appeal at the court of appeal. This is the handiwork of the same political merchants who are bent on using my name to procure judgement against the Deputy Speaker.
“It must be emphasized that I am the only candidate of AA in that election. And if anyone should approach the courts, it should be me. Once again, I challenge anyone who says he is Ifeanyi Chukwuka Igbokwe other than me to reveal his true identity and counter my position on this issue.
“I have no reason to fight my brother, the Deputy Speaker whom God has through the benevolence of leaders of the country, his party, APC and his colleagues in the National Assembly exalted to a position of privilege for Ndi Bende, Ndi Abia State and Ndi Igbo in general. I can't be stupid to pursue a case I know is needless.
“Impersonation anywhere in the world is a serious criminal offence that is punishable under the law. Let those who went to the Appeal Court unmask themselves for the world to see them. I therefore call on the police, the DSS and other security agencies to immediately fish out these impersonators and bring them to justice.”