Abia Governor, Ikpeazu, Goes Into Hiding As Security Aides Withdrawn
Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, Abia State Governor[/caption]
Embattled Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, may have gone into hiding following the withdrawal of his security aides following a directive from Abuja, and fearing arrest, The WHISTLER has exclusively learnt.
A source at the Government House, Umuahia, told this newspaper early afternoon that there is disarray amongst aides of the governor as some of them may have deserted him.
“I can tell you that the situation here is very tense. The governor is nowhere to be found when the policemen and DSS operatives started leaving, meaning that they may have been withdrawn. The Chief Security Officer to the governor said he was told by the Government House police chief that it was orders from Abuja.
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“As of now, I cannot say where the governor is because he left without most of us here knowing where to and we have been unable to reach him,” the source who asked not to be named because he was not permitted to speak, explained.
Ikpeazu was sacked from office by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court Abuja on Monday following a suit by his party man and a governorship aspirant, Mr. Uche Ogah, that Ikpeazu submitted fraudulent tax documents when ran for the governorship on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party.
On Thursday, the Ikpeazu’s woes deepened when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), issued a Certificate of Return to Ogah claiming it was yet to receive a notice of appeal and stay of execution from the embattled governor.
However, on Friday, the spokesperson of the commission, Mr. Nick Dazang, reversed the earlier position explaining that the commission indeed received a notice of appeal from Ikpeazu but was directed to the wrong department.
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“I discovered that INEC received Mr. Ikpeazu’s notice. However, it did not contain a motion or order of stay of execution. In the circumstance, and in deference to the previous court order, INEC as a responsible regulatory (body) has no recourse than to issue Mr. Ogah the certificate of return.
“By law, a certificate of return is supposed to be issued within one week. Also, the commission has decided as a matter of policy to obey all subsisting court orders. That means if the court were to issue a contradictory order, INEC has no option than to obey,” Dazang said.
However, the Abia State Attorney-General, Umeh Kalu, had in a statement on Thursday night, said the governor’s legal team included the notice of stay of execution order with the appeal notice delivered to INEC.
“I have a proof to that. Saleh N. Ibrahim, Senior Clerical Officer at the Legal Services Department of the Commission’s Headquarters, Abuja, who stamped the Notice of Appeal and Injunction with the Commission’s official stamp by 12.50pm on Wednesday, June 29, 2016.”
