TheCable

Uche Ekwunife, the senator who was representing Anambra central at the national assembly, caused quite a stir last week when she ditched the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Surely, in Nigeria’s political space, defections are already de rigueur. But a lot of things make Ekwunife’s case complex.

Ekwunife won election in March 2015 – defeating Chris Ngige of APC – and was inaugurated senator in June. But the Appeal court upturned her victory on December 7, saying the election “did not meet the prescriptions of the electoral act”, and ordering the conduct of a rerun within 90 days.

It is impossible that Ekwunife would have joined APC if she didn’ receive assurances that she would emerge the party’s candidate at the rerun, especially as Ngige, her opponent back in March, is ineligible to contest, having been appointed minister of labour and employment by President Muhammadu Buhari.

So, is it proper for Ekwunife to contest and election as a PDP candidate and then contest that same election’s rerun as PDP candidate.

Morally, is this right or wrong? And legally, would she be running foul of the electoral act?

It is unlikely that Ekwunife will return to the PDP under any circumstance. Hear her while announcing her defection: “It is true some of us did not give our support to APC in the previous election, it is true you voted for me massively in PDP, but then my brothers and sisters, that seed of confusion that militated against PDP in the previous election is still inherent and may not be of any good to any people.”

But there’s no harm in having your say while PDP deals with its confusion, and APC prepares to deal with the even bigger confusion that an Ekwunife candidature would generate

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