Suleiman Anyalewechi, Aba
The Abia South Senatorial candidate of the Labour Party, LP, during the February 25, 2023 Presidential and National Assembly polls, Engr Chinedu Onyeizu, has denied having any agreement with anyone or political party, either before, during or after the elections.
This is even as he has expressed his readiness and determination to exhaust all the available judicial levels to reclaim his mandate.
He spoke against the backdrop of widespread insinuations that he may have been cajoled and placated with some alternative incentives to jettison his interrogation of the electoral victory of his main rival, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, candidate Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe.
Engr Onyeizu, a former Engineer with Shell Oil Exploration, in an interactive session with NewsCritic online on Thursday July 19 said he cannot be moved by pecuniary gains, no matter how tempting to trade off the mandate freely given to him by the good people of Abia South, adding that the only subsisting and overriding pact is that which he had earlier entered with his constituents before the elections.
The LP candidate noted that his immediate appeal against the ruling of the Abia State National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal, which had on July 10 dismissed his petition against Sen Abaribe on technical grounds, at the appeal court Owerri Division, remains an eloquent testimony to his unflinching resolve to protect the mandate of the people.
“At the moment, my appeal which I filed on July 17 is before the Appeal Court in Owerri. In this struggle, it is not about me and or anybody else. Like our leader Peter Obi has said, it is about the process and how to deepen it. There is no way I’m going to place my personal interests above those of the people. Entering into any agreement with anybody as some people are insinuating with a view to feathering my nest is not the driving force behind my entry into partisan politics.
“Don’t forget, some of us left our comfort zones to join the fray. So, my mission in politics is to serve my people, and not for any personal aggrandizement.
On whether he has been under any pressure to abandon his challenge of the victory of Sen Abaribe, Engr Onyeizu noted that such political situations no matter who are involved are bound to be trailed by pressure.
“Let me place it on record here that I have deep respect for Sen Abaribe, first as my elder brother and second as one of the good representatives of our people at the National Assembly.
However, I equally know my capabilities and others who have not been given the chance. Like I said earlier, it is not about any individuals and or political platforms. It is about the preservation of the system, I am not challenging Abaribe, I’m only questioning the process that denied me victory. This is because, I know for sure that I defeated Abaribe”.
But if at the end of the day the court decides otherwise, I will accept the outcome. However, before then let no one be deceived into believing that I have been settled,”Onyeizu stated.
