ENUGU (Sundiata Post) – Shunned by Enugu residents, booed by workers, rejected on the streets and cursed by market traders, Peter Mbah celebrates ‘bought’ judgments in Government House. Where are Ndi Enugu to rejoice with the embattled governor of Enugu State on the two judgments he’s so far pocketed? Shouldn’t Peter Mbah be seen marching through a large crowd in one of the major streets of the coal city, acknowledging cheers from supporters, to demonstrate his acceptability as popular politicians do.
Assuming the governor is not someone cut out for that kind of celebration, shouldn’t his supporters and well wishers be found celebrating; taking over major roads in the city, hanging on moving vehicles and tricycles, and making travellers coming into Enugu to wonder what was going on? The answer should have been given that Peter Mbah won his case at the tribunal or yet again at the Court of Appeal.
No such thing has happened anywhere in Enugu because Peter Mbah, generally seen as an INEC imposed governor, lacks the requisite home support to galvanize such an activity. Although he could do so in local government areas within his Nkanu areas of the state, where he enjoys a reasonable support base, surely not anywhere within Enugu Metropolis or any other urban community in the state. Even if he hired people to do so for him, those hired would return his money knowing how much the name Peter Mbah is loathed by a majority of Enugu residents.
Not willing to be mocked or booed by attempting what his counterparts do, Peter Mbah chose the Enugu Government House for noisy celebrations over his court victories with his commissioners, party supporters, local government chairmen and some INEC officials who put him in office in the first place.
One thing Peter Mbah’s supporters have not bothered to dispute, is the fact that he did not win the March 18, 2023 governorship election and was imposed by INEC against the will of Ndi Enugu. It would be recalled that after collation of votes from sixteen local government areas on that fateful day, at the state’s INEC collation centre, the Labour Party’s candidate Chijioke Edeoga was leading with over 11, 000 votes before the Nkanu East’s results were badly manipulated to give victory to the loser.
Ever since, ‘Ndi Enugu’ have had to cope with peace of the graveyard as residents stomach the horrible pain of being ruled by someone they did not elect.
Soon after what looked like a military coup d’etat on Wednesday 22nd March 2023 and the eventual inauguration of the impostor on 29th May, 2023, ‘Ndi Enugu’ were asked to maintain the peace and wait for the judiciary to examine the issues involved including that of certificate forgery with a view to restoring the people’s mandate, but the people’s hope of getting anything done has been waning by the day taking into account the quality of judgements handed down by the third estate. Despite the overwhelming evidence of forgery and submission of forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission, the election tribunal and the Court of Appeal closed their eyes to the weighty issues raised against Peter Mbah and delivered judgements that suited their paymaster.
Is it true that Peter Mbah mapped out a total of N15 billion out of the N170 billion loan facility he obtained a couple of months ago, to bribe judicial officers involved in his case, across all levels, in order to get the kind of judgements he wanted? No one can confirm, but there’s always no smoke without fire, especially when decisions emanating from the tribunals do not match the weight of evidence tendered against the embattled governor.
Like I noted earlier, Peter Mbah’s supporters do not bother themselves engaging in any argument as to who truly won the March 18 governorship election in Enugu State but always bold to say that Mbah as an incumbent, had got the resources to sort himself out through the corrupt judiciary. That we’ve seen so far.
Aside from the issue of bribery, Mbah is alleged to have promised the APC leadership that if they assisted him to wriggle out of the courts, he would join the political party. What makes the APC think that if an unpopular Mbah joined their party , Ndi Enugu who rejected him not quite long ago, would join him to that party? It’s well settled that only a very popular governor can achieve that kind of feat. The APC should learn a lesson from Cross River State where former Governor Ben Ayade joined the party and had his fingers burnt in the 2023 elections.
All eyes are on the Supreme Court to redeem the battered image of the Judiciary after the 2023 general elections. The apex court is expected to rise up and dispense justice without fear or favour in all the governorship election appeals brought before it. Will the highest court in the land join in signing a death warrant for the NYSC just to save a single individual? Will the court also join in holding that an NYSC discharge certificate is worthless and does not count as one of the certificates required for the office of governor of a state even when forged? Will the court also hold that a subpoenaed official witness is no longer needed in election petitions not being a witness any party could control and prevail upon to make his evidence on oath available within 21 days? The choice is the court’s to make.
Feelers from the Supreme Court however indicate that it will not be business as usual for Peter Mbah as many stakeholders in the justice sector are said to be interested in Enugu’s case. The convergence of interests is not far fetched taking into account weighty legal issues involved. They are aware that if the NYSC is rubbished, as has been done in the lower courts, just to save an individual, the entire country will pay dearly for it. It is also of interest to legal scholars to find out why the lower courts ruled that evidence of subpoenaed official witnesses could be jettisoned despite their relevancy by reason of a mere rule of court which conflicts with the constitutional right to fair hearing. If evidence of official witnesses are excluded from tribunals, for whatever reason, what quality of justice is expected from the courts?
The researchers will also want to know why documentary evidence tendered by witnesses should be rejected along with their oral evidence on account of want of front-loading. This is so because it is settled law that even a stolen documentary evidence, which made its way into the court, is admissible. Time to pronounce the law and nothing but the law or the nation will contend with its consequences.
