A group known as Abia Rescue Movement has reiterated that Chief Ikechi Emenike is the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, warning Abians to be wary of the rumour mills and falsehood peddlers whose only intent is to misinform the people and cause rancor.
In a media statement made available to the media, the group noted that “It is alarming and horrifying the extent to which people can lie, peddle falsehoods and even misinterpret a lucid Court Order, just to achieve selfish political interests.
“The headline, “INEC Shuns Court Order, Publishes Emenike as Abia APC Governorship Candidate”(abntv.com.ng) is absurd and misleading. There was No Court Order asking INEC not to publish the name of High Chief Ikechi Emenike as the duly elected Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Abia State. His name was submitted by the National Secretariat and recognised by INEC which acted in line with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.
“The Court Order issued on July 21, 2022 by Justice E.N Anyadike of the Federal High Court Umuahia is clear: MAINTAIN THE STATUS QUO. The said Court Order states: “That status quo be maintained by all parties in this suit as at today the 21st day of July 2022”.
Understanding the meaning of Status Quo is not rocket science, unless somebody somewhere wants to engage in mischief making. It is a simple English word derived from Latin, meaning that the present state of affairs should be maintained.
status quo
Etymology
From Latin status (“state”) (sometimes used in the ablative statu) + quō (“in which”), the ablative of quī (“which”). From the Latin in statu quō ante bellum erat (“the way it was before the war”).
Noun
status quo (plural status quos)
- The state of things; the way things are, as opposed to the way they could be; the existing state of affairs.
“This means that the status of High Chief Ikechi Emenike as the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) remains intact. Nothing has changed and INEC has not violated any Court Order by publishing and uploading Chief Emenike’s name in its portal as the Abia APC Governorship Candidate for the 2023 poll.
According to the group, there should a limit to partisanship. It’s quite obvious that some people have decided to constitute themselves into judges. It shouldn’t be so.
High Chief Ikechi Emenike emerged as the duly elected Governorship Candidate of APC for Abia State through a lawful and democratic party primary conducted by a team sent by the National Secretariat of the party.
Whatever Uche Ogah or any other person(s) did in the name of governorship primary is unknown to the National Leadership of APC, unknown to the law and unknown to INEC.
It is an exercise in self delusion for Uche Ogah to be calling himself a governorship candidate and for mischief makers to address him with such title.