With cases still pending in Cross River State local government electoral tribunal, the AC State chairman, Cletus Obum is disturbed that the cases are dragging and wish that action be expedited in them. In this interview, he strongly feels the candidates of his party in the disputed local governments should be sworn in without delay, and more. Excerpts:

Electoral Tribunal
The Cross River State local government electoral tribunal, so far, has taken no major decision or judgement. The strike by judicial workers tended to slow down things in the tribunals.
We have cases in four local government –Boki, Yakur, Odukpani and Akamkpa. We have councillorship candidates in the tribunal at Akamkpa and Ogoja. The tribunals are divided into the three senatorial districts of the state.

Ogoja is for the North, Ikom for central and Calabar for the South. Like I said, we’ve had no judgment so far. But the cases have been heard and the merit of the cases are simple. For Akamkpa and Yakur, we are asking that the candidates be declared on the bases that the two candidates that PDP fielded were not qualified.
In the case of Akamkpa in the Calabar tribunal, we’re contending that the fact that the chairmanship candidate of PDP was a dismissed police officer he didn’t qualify. He was indicted by the Nigerian Police Force.

He does not qualify to run for election. We have been able to demonstrate-using Police documents and exchanges written by him when he was with the police force. Now the drama about the Akamkpa case is that in filing his form, he didn’t even mention the fact that he was a dismissed Police Officer. Even if he was indicted and the indictment squashed in a court, he ought to have shown that he was at some time convicted or indicted for gross misconduct. It all means he lied under oath. The PDP candidate did not state all these as required by the law. His name is Mathew Olori.

He is the immediate past publicity secretary of PDP in Cross River State. He was recently sworn in wrongly as chairman by CROSIEC. Now AC candidate, Ita Ojon is contending that this man didn’t qualify, and being the only candidate who contested the election against him, it means he should have been returned unopposed. We are asking for outright declaration. And even if the indictment was later evauated by a court, he did not state so in the form relating to wether or not he has been tried. So, for that perjury, for lying on oath, he should be disqualified and AC candidate declared.
In the case of Yakur, one person has four names in four different documents. In his primary school certificate, he bears one name. He has about five other brothers and he’s the youngest. Others bear the same names. He call himself Etah. When it was discovered, he declared that he was doing change of name.

Lying under Oath
He lied twice. Between 1998 and 1999, he contested for chairmanship under ANPP. In the form given to all the party’s candidates, his age was declared as 36. Now under PDP, he declared that his age is 45. On these counts, the man has lied under oath, does not qualify and has failed to establish that the certificates he’s claiming are his own. As clearly stated by the law of the land, the man does not qualify, and he ought to lose his seat. We’re now calling for the declaration of our candidate , Thomas Oki Ofem.

Bags of unused voters cards
In the case of Boki and Odukpani, we have demonstrated that election materials never got to any polling booths in Boki land. Even when all the people in Boki were said to have voted, over 20 bags of Ghana-must-go of unused voters cards were found by us. If the people actually voted, the cards ought to have marked by the voters and the voters’ register ticked by the electoral official at each polling booths.
Another sad part is that we have photographs and obituary notices of people claimed to have voted in the election.

How did they vote? It means an old, unreviewed voters register was used. Again, this shows there was no election. We’re asking for the viation of that election. Fresh election should be conducted and Boki people allowed to exercise their franchise. The violence which attended the so called election are on video tape. Severe injuries were inflicted on AC members who went to monitor the election.
In Odukpani, there are 14 wards there. Unused ballot papers of eight wards have been tendered in the tribunal to show there was no election. So, if election, didn’t take place in eight wards out of 14, it means something is awfully wrong. It shows there were irregularities and that there was no valid election. These are matters before the tribunal and these are the stages where we are. The defence are open in the case of the central senatorial district. In one of the cases, the petitioners are still presenting their cases.

Our case in Ikom
It was struck out on technical grounds. There was poor information as to when the matter would come up. there was no presence of the petitioner and the case was struck out on the bases of his absence. It happened in January.

Demand for free education
Education in the state should be free. The income of the state should be sufficient to give us free education in both primary and secondary schools. As a Niger Delta state, we should give scholarship handsomely. The state owns oil money that run into billions.

Action Congress is calling on elder statesmen and surviving founding father of the state to halt the abolition of tertiary education in the state by the PDP government. The systematic destruction of education is characterized by the refusal of government to pay university wages to the university staff, use of unqualified management personals, dehumanizing conditions for teaching and learning, scrapping of NECON, an examination body established by law, closure of three intermediate manpower-producing institutions, non payment of bursary to students or scholarship to indegenes. Consequently, we call for a change and the restoration of the institutions dear to the people of the state.