Ebonyi: IPAC Drags EBSIEC To Court, Alleges Exclusion From LG Election

By Nwogha Ndubuisi, Abakaliki The opposition party body in Ebonyi state, Inter Party Advisory Council, (IPAC) today dragged the Ebonyi State Independent Electoral Commission, EBSIEC, to the Federal High Court,,w Abakaliki over the alleged exclusion of some registered political parties from participating in the just concluded council polls in the state.

This was made known by the spokesperson of the group and State Chairman of the Young Progressives Party, YPP, Deacon Stanley Oyibe while interacting with newsmen, Monday at the Federal High Court Abakaliki. Recall that, before the conduct of the Ebonyi local government polls, IPAC in the state had condemned the alleged outrageous cost of the expression of interest and nomination forms by the EBSIEC for both local government chairmanship and ward councilorship candidates.

Our correspondent learnt that the local government chairmanship candidate was to pick a nomination form with one million Naira (N1,000,000) and two hundred thousand Naira (N200,000) for the nomination form of the ward councilorship candidate. Deacon Oyibe, the Spokesman of the group, said the members of IPAC came to the court today concerning the matter they have with the EBSIEC, expressing surprise why the court didn't sit, following their suit. He said: "I don't know why the court couldn't sit. The registrar said he will communicate with us but who knows when that would be?"

He added that "all the registered political parties are standing their ground, concerning the council polls, to get Ebonyi State right. "We are pursuing our aim, to get what's wrong right. We aim to build new governance that will carry everybody along in Ebonyi State. "The matter was properly filed, everything was done according to the proceedings of the court, and I hope as it stands now, all things have been put in place. "Our grievances are just because our political parties are not included in the election. We are aware that in 2020, INEC deregistered some political parties because they didn't win the election. "So, the EBSIEC should have given us a fair playground for all the registered political parties to participate in the local government elections." Also speaking, the Candidate of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) for Ebonyi South Senatorial District, Chaplin Ibeabuchi Levi Ajah described the action of the EBSIEC during the council polls in the state as an aberration and a travesty to a democratic landscape. He explained: "We are here in the Federal High Court against EBSIEC, that the way it conducted local government election is an aberration - a travesty to a democratic process. "So, we filed a suit to regularize the process but today we didn't see anybody, we didn't see the judge, and we are at the Federal High Court being stranded. "The clerk said they will give us a date, to communicate with us, but truly, the process is an aberration to a democratic landscape." He however urged the general public to rise to defend democracy, saying "those in authority, should understand that power belongs to the people," by not infringing on their rights through leadership imposition and high-handedness in things connected to them.