Former governor of Imo State and senator-elect for Imo West, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, is conspicuously missing at the Senate this morning as the Clerk of the National Assembly inaugurates the 9th National Assembly.
Voting in the election of a new President of the Senate is ongoing.
And contrary to what he may have wished, Okorocha is probably watching the proceednigs on TV in the cool comfort of his home, perhaps, wondering what next.
This is because up till the time the inauguration kicked off an hour ago, an epoch that has been characterised by high level politicking and horse trading over the election of principal officers in the two chambers, INEC was yet to release Okorocha’s certificate of return to him.
The commission is still holding tight to the certificate despite an order by a federal high court to release it.
Without the certificate, Okorocha will neither be sworn in nor recognised as a senator. Every elected lawmaker is expected to present the document during Tuesday’s inauguration.
However, there might still be a strong ray of hope for Okorocha as INEC announced, Monday, that the commission will meet this morning (Tuesday) to consider the judgments and orders issued or served on it from various Courts of Law on the issuance of Certificates of Return.
Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Okoye stated this while reacting to enquiry on the commission’s decision on a court order, directing it to issue Certificates of Return to a Senator and five House of Representatives members under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Bauchi State.
He said the commission was yet to take any decision regarding the judgement as its National Commissioners supervising state level review on the 2019 general elections just returned to Abuja.
“The Commission will meet tomorrow (Tuesday) regarding judgments and orders served on it from various Courts of Law.
“The Commission has not taken any decision relating to the matter you alluded to.
“The Commission may deal with all such issues and other pending ones tomorrow.
“National commissioners supervising State Level Review of the 2019 Elections returned to Abuja on Monday to clear all pending judgments and orders before heading back to their states of supervision,” Okoye said.
An FCT High Court, on May 16, had ordered INEC to issue certificates of return to one Senator and five House of Representatives members elected under the platform the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bauchi State, who came second in the affected elections.
The court had, on Friday, refused to grant an application for Stay of Execution of its judgement, which nullified the election of the affected senatorial district and five Federal Constituencies under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State.
The FCT High Court, presided over by Justice Bello Kawu, rejected the application by the APC on stay of execution and ordered INEC to issue the PDP candidates with certificates of return.
The court had declared as null and void, the publication of the names of APC candidates as winners of the National Assembly election in the affected constituencies.
The affected PDP lawmakers-elect yet to be issued certificates include: Garba Dahiru, who replaced Lawal Yahaya Gumau as Bauchi south senator-elect, Jatau Mohammed Auwal replaces Omar Tata.
Okorocha was declared the winner of the February 23 senatorial election of Imo West zone but the returning officer, Professor Innocent Ibeabuchi, said he made the declaration under duress.
The former governor, subsequently, approached the High Court in Abuja, seeking an order compelling INEC to issue him a certificate of return.
The commission refused to issue him one, saying it was reviewing the situation in Imo West but refused to act.
However, last Friday, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja upturned the commission’s decision not to acknowledge Okorocha’s victory. The judge described INEC’s decision as “lawlessness and a complete nullity.”
Justice Abang said INEC had no power to act as it did. He said such an action implied the creation of new laws by INEC.
