Indications are that to save Okigwe South Federal Constituency (Ehime Mbano/Obowo/Ihitte Uboma) from its self, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may soon declare the seat vacant for a fresh election that will usher in a House member for the Federal Constituency.
This is as result of the nomination of Hon Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba as a Ministerial nominee, and has already scaled screening.
Nwajiuba presently occupies the seat, but with his swearing-in that may come any moment from today, that seat would be declared vacant for a fresh election.
Although the issue of the Federal Constituency seat is still before court, but it will get complicated with Nwajiuba now out from the seat.
INEC had after the elections of February 2019 declared Hon Chike Okafor of Action Alliance AA as winner, but Nwajiuba was later declared winner, as Okafor was dragged to court that he was not the authentic candidate of AA in the contest.
When court ruled against Chike Okafor, Hon Nwajiuba of ACCORD Party who came second in the election automatically inherited the seat.
Now, with Nwajiuba headed for Ministerial position, the next option left is for INEC to declare his seat vacant and call for another election.
However, followers of Chike Okafor said such a scenario cannot take place since the court is yet to exhaust the matter between Okafor and Nwajiuba.
But legal pundits maintain that Chike Okafor was only in court asking that he be joined in the matter before the appeal court, which should die the moment Nwajiuba has moved on, but could not be for the benefit of Chike Okafor whose only prayer is that he joined in the suit.
Therefore, it was argued that the only option now is for INEC to call for fresh election which will throw the entire exercise open for all political parties.
“With the situation now, if there is a fresh election, it is not mandatory that those who earlier participated in the exercise must be filed by their parties. It is entirely a new election and parties will decide who represent them” Trumpeta was told.
Therefore, TRUMPETA was told that all the political parties should go and start preparation for a fresh election as Nwajiuba’s Ministerial slot has altered the entire situation.
