*Vows to lead Counter Protest
*Says Protesters Should Take Off From Mbaise or Obinze, Not Ugwu Ekwema Civic Centre.
Majority Leader Emeritus of Imo State House of Assembly, Hon.Lugard Osuji, has warned members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Imo State against their continuous protest over the Supreme Court Judgement that sacked Emeka Ihedioha as Governor of Imo State and enthroned Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressive Congress, APC as Governor.
Osuji said the protests are baseless, describing it as direct blackmail on the learned judges of the Supreme Court by the PDP.
Speaking to newsmen in Owerri, Osuji who represented Owerri Municipal state Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly from 2015- 2019, said Owerri people are not against the administration of Governor Hope Uzodinma, thus the protesters should stop using the ancestral birthplace of Owerri, the Ugwu Ekwema Civic Centre,as a place of take off for their needless protests.
He said “Owerri people are not against the present government of Governor Hope Uzodinma. The protesters should go to Aboh Mbaise, the home place of Ihedioha or Obinze, the birthplace of Uche Onyeagocha and take off their protests from there.
Osuji said PDP who lost at the Supreme Court should accept it in good faith, saying any further protests in Owerri will be resisted by the Rescue Mission family in Owerri Municipal which he leads.
He recalled the judgement of the Supreme Court on Uche Nwosu on the grounds that he had dual nomination as governorship candidate of the APC and AA.
“We had to respect the judgement of the Judges of the Supreme Court on Uche Nwosu on the issue of dual nomination as candidate of the APC and AA. We did not run around the Streets of Owerri to protest the way they are doing now. The heavens did not fall. We accepted our fate and kept quite about it because we are law abiding citizens.
He accused supporters of Ihedioha of causing public disturbance in Owerri Municipal.
“Those protesting that Ihedioha was removed by the Supreme should stop disturbing the peace in the State particularly in Owerri Municipal.
“They should swallow the bitter pill and accept their fate.
“When they won at the Election Petition Tribunal and at the Appeal Court and others lost, they praised the Judges and the Judgement because it was in their favour. “Now that the Supreme Court Judgement did not favour them, they are now blackmailing the Judges with protests.This is unacceptable.
“They do not have monopoly of protests.We can equally march them protest for protest. We will resist such disturbance from them if they continue to disturb our peace.
Osuji said Emeka Ihedioha should not have been Governor of Imo State in the first place, because he did not meet the constitutional requirement to be declared so.
Osuji continued”Ihedioha was wrongly declared Governor of Imo State.He never met the requirements.
On the review petition filed by Ihedioha and the PDP at the Supreme Court against the judgement which sacked Ihedioha as Governor, Osuji described it as an insult on the learned Justices of the Supreme Court whose Judgement is final and can never be questioned.
He said “If they are seeking for a review of the matter, then it means we can wake up one morning and go to the Supreme Court and demand for the retrial of Uche Nwosu’s case.
“The Supreme Court is the final bus stop. Their judgement is final. This is a well known fact to even a primary school pupil. I wonder how they want to bend the Supreme Court to address their matter because the time for election related petitions is over.
“As far as I know, there is no Court in the land that will dabble into an election matter now, except for the bye elections held recently in the State” he concluded
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