Chairman  of the Committee for People’s  Awareness Nigeria (COPAN), Mr. Patrick Ejike Ochuba has thrown the weight of his organisation behind Abuja  High Court  ruling declaring Dr Uche Ogah, governor of Abia State.
Ochuba advised Goveror Okezie Ikpeazu to obey the court  first and then proceed to the Appeal Court and Supreme Court to see how he can reverse the judgment in his favour.  He cited the Andy Uba and Peter Obi case to buttress his point.
The COPAN  chairman stated that his group was a formidable support group for Ogah during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary of 2014 but decamped to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
He stated that  they would return to PDP immediately Ogah is sworn-in as governor.
On whether  Ogah can fix Abia if he becomes governor, the COPAN chairman stated that given his pedigree as a successful banker, an entrepreneur  and astute businessman,  “Ogah can deliver the dividend of democracy to Abians.  Past leaders could not  fix the  infrastructure that made the economy of Aba  tick in the eyes of  every Nigerian, an economic status  that attracted people from different parts of the country to do business in the state.
“I believe Ogah, as a successful businessman, has the capacity to fix the state , which is currently in decay. I,  therefore, advise Abia indigenes not to take laws into their hands, but to  ensure that peace reigns in the state while waiting for resolution of the current impasse.”

…Another demands retrieval of Ogah’s certificate of return from Ogah, group tells INEC

By Ndubuisi Orji

Civil Society Alliance for Civil Rights and Rule of Law has called on the Inedpendent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to retrieve the Certificate of Return issued to Dr Uche Ogah.
The group said the certificate  was issued in error.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos yesterday,  spokesman of the group, Mr Onuoha Oliver said “INEC should, within 24 hours, retrieve the certificate of return issued erroneously to Ogah as the court order restraining INEC from doing so by the State High Court in Osisioma Ngwa in Abia State subsists .”
Oliver lamented that governance in Abia has been put on hold as a result of the court judgement.
According to him, due to the confusion caused by the judgment, “it has affected governance and has equally slowed down the pace of development in the state initiated by the present administration.
“It is also causing friction and tension between the two ethnic groups in the state. At that point, the Notice of Appeal could have been enough ground for INEC to withold every other action.
“We still have absolute hope and confidence in the judiciary as the last hope of the oppressed and this hope will be made good in the appellate courts.”