Fides Media Living the Faith
. . . Say He is Not Party’s Senatorial Candidate, Accuse Him of Deceit
By Abuchi Onwumelu
The entire Local Government Chairmen of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in all the Seven (7) Local Government Areas of Anambra Central Senatorial District have disowned Barr. Tony Chukwuelue as the party’s senatorial candidate, even as they warned him to desist from parading himself as a member of the party.
In a release signed by the seven local government party chairmen of the party including the Zonal Vice Chairman of the party, Mr. Nwokike Edwin and the Awka South chairman of the party, Ekenta Chukwudozie and made available to newsmen in Awka, the group said that Barr. Chukwuelue had ceased to be a member of the party a long time ago.
‘Our attention has been drawn to the purported ELECTION PETITION (Petition No EPT/AW/01/2019) filed against Senator Uche Ekwunife, by Barr. Tony Chukwuelue, through his lawyer, C. N. Nwagbo, Esq. In the said petition which was filed at the National Assembly/Legislative Houses Election Petition Tribunal, Awka, Barr. Tony Chukwuelue purports to be the SDP Candidate for the Anambra Central Senatorial Elections.
‘As LGA Chairmen of the Social Democratic party (SDP) in all the Seven (7) Local Government Areas of Anambra Central, and knowing fully well what transpired in our party in the period leading up to this election, we feel a sense of duty and obligation to set the record straight and correct the False Claim by Barr. Tony Chukwuelue that he was a Candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) for Anambra Central Senatorial Zone. The truth is that Barr.
‘Tony Chukwuelue was NEVER a candidate of the SDP in the Anambra Central Senatorial Election, and HE KNOWS IT!!
Here are the true and unassailable facts:
Barr. Tony Chukwuelue was never a Candidate of Social Democratic Party for Anambra Central Senatorial District for the 2019 general elections held on the 23rd day of February, 2019.
‘Our Party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) never conducted any primary election to elect Barr. Tony Chukwuelue to fly the flag of the Party for the 2019 Anambra Central Senatorial District election.
‘Barr. Tony Chukwuelue neither purchased any Nomination Forms for the Social Democratic Party (SDP), nor was he screened by any electoral panel of SDP.
‘Our Party had very serious internal crisis with Barr. Tony Chukwuelue, which he was well aware of, and which issues were NOT RESOLVED in his favour.
Because of these unresolved issues involving Barr. Tony Chukwuelue, our party DID NOT FORWARD Barr. Tony Chukwuelue’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the SDP Candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial District.
‘Barr. Tony Chukwuelue KNOWS that the SDP did not forward his name to INEC as the SDP Candidate and that INEC will neither include him nor the party in the senatorial elections. Infact, as of present, Barr. Tony Chukwuelue is NO LONGER a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
‘SDP did not submit any Form CF002 for Anambra Central Senatorial District to INEC. As a result of the above, INEC did not include Barr. Tony Chukwuelue’s name as a Candidate for 2019 general election. Consequently, SDP or its LOGO could not have been included on the ballot paper for the 2019 Anambra Central Senatorial election.
‘Going into the election, Barr. Tony Chukwuelue KNEW that INEC would neither publish his name as a Candidate, nor include SDP as a party in the 2019 Anambra Central Senatorial Election. Barr. Tony Chukwuelue procured illegal INEC Forms CF001 and CF002 and forged INEC stamp on the documents to enable him smuggle them into INEC.
‘When he could not succeed he proceeded to Court to stamp same and tried to re-submit them to INEC but failed. Upon returning back from Abuja, Barr. Tony Chukwuelue m. Barr. Tony Chukwuelue neither purchased any Nomination Forms for the Social Democratic Party (SDP), nor was he screened by any electoral panel of SDP.
Our Party had very serious internal crisis with Barr. Tony Chukwuelue, which he was well aware of, and which issues were NOT RESOLVED in his favour.
‘Because of these unresolved issues involving Barr. Tony Chukwuelue, our party DID NOT FORWARD Barr. Tony Chukwuelue’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the SDP Candidate for Anambra Central Senatorial District.
Barr. Tony Chukwuelue KNOWS that the SDP did not forward his name to INEC as the SDP Candidate and that INEC will neither include him nor the party in the senatorial elections. Infact, as of present, Barr. Tony Chukwuelue is NO LONGER a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
‘SDP did not submit any Form CF002 for Anambra Central Senatorial District to INEC. As a result of the above, INEC did not include Barr. Tony Chukwuelue’s name as a Candidate for 2019 general election. Consequently, SDP or its LOGO could not have been included on the ballot paper for the 2019 Anambra Central Senatorial election.
‘Going into the election, Barr. Tony Chukwuelue KNEW that INEC would neither publish his name as a Candidate, nor include SDP as a party in the 2019 Anambra Central Senatorial Election.
‘Barr. Tony Chukwuelue procured illegal INEC Forms CF001 and CF002 and forged INEC stamp on the documents to enable him smuggle them into INEC. When he could not succeed he proceeded to Court to stamp same and tried to re-submit them to INEC but failed.
‘Upon returning back from Abuja, Barr. Tony Chukwuelue met with the undersigned SDP Local Government Chairmen in Anambra Central and narrated his precarious situation and dilemma to us. He tried to persuade us to please for his readmission into the party from where he was suspended and ultimately expelled. We told him that we lacked the powers to lift suspension and expulsion. That is the current position to date.
‘Knowing all these facts, we find it deceitfully irresponsible and pungently worrisome that Barr. Tony Chukwuelue, a lawyer by profession, would engage in this fraudulent and deceitful voyage to the Election Petitions Tribunal to claim that INEC UNLAWFULLY EXCLUDED him from the election. This is an intentionally deceitful conduct that is unbecoming of a Legal Practitioner for which we have petitioned the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and could result in the De-Robing of Barr. Tony Chukwuelue.
‘In conclusion, we the undersigned hereby restate with great emphasis, that Barr. Tony Chukwuelue was never a candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the just-concluded 2019 Anambra Central Senatorial election. Barr. Tony Chukwuelue knew, ab initio, that our party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) DID NOT submit his name to INEC as our candidate, and that INEC was NOT going to publish his name or include our party in the Anambra Central Senatorial Election.
‘As Stakeholders in both our party and our Senatorial District, we feel a sense of Duty and Obligation to provide our constituents with the true and correct facts. We cannot sit back and watch in silence as Barr. Tony Chukwuelue attempts to blackmail and deceive the people of Anambra Central with his frivolous and unwarranted PETITION.
‘We hereby condemn Barr. Tony Chukwuelue’s petition in its entirety and consider it a deliberate and vicious attempt to frustrate and truncate the progress and development that the election of Senator Uche Ekwunife will bring to our Senatorial District. We must not let the greedy and avaricious proclivities of Barr. Tony Chukwuelue stand in the way of the progress of Anambra Central, the statement read.
The Anambra Central Senatorial District LGAs SDP chairmen during the press briefing