LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Abia State Peoples Democratic Party has strongly condemned the delay in the inauguration of Aaron Uzodike, who was re-elected as the representative for Aba North State Constituency in the 2023 elections.
Uzodike received his Certificate of Return from the Independent National Electoral Commission on December 13, 2023, following a court order.
Previously, the state House of Assembly Speaker Emmanuel Emereuwa had confirmed that preparations were underway for the swearing-in of Uzodike as a lawmaker.
Emereuwa provided this assurance during a press briefing commemorating one year of the 8th Abia House of Assembly, attributing the delay to legal challenges involving both Uzodike and Destiny Nwagwu of the Labour Party.
However, during a recent interview, the Vice Chairman of the party, Abraham Amah, voiced concern over the failure to inaugurate Uzodike despite the court’s explicit directive.
Amah criticized the decision, highlighting that members declared winners by the Court of Appeal from other political parties had already been duly inaugurated at the national level.
He emphasized that this delay constituted a violation of democratic principles and urged prompt action to address the issue.
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Amah said, “It is a government that creates room for checks and balances. Are you aware that one of the cases handled by the Appeal Court involved a member of the state House of Assembly, representing Aba North State Constituency? This is almost more than seven months after the Court of Appeal gave judgment, Aaron Uzodike.
“We asked that Aaron Uzodike should be declared winner and directed INEC, which is the umpire responsible for managing that election, to issue a certificate of return for Aaron Uzodike. It did not take one week for INEC to comply with the directive of the Court of Appeal.
“Then seven months later, the government has yet to allow Aaron Uzodike to be inaugurated in the House of Assembly. So, what type of government is that?
“If you go to the centre, they put the lower and the upper house, the Senate and the House of Representatives have inaugurated the non-All Progressives Congress members who were
declared winners by the same Court of Appeal.
“They have inaugurated them. Even when such declarations were against the interests of APC, such persons have been inaugurated.”