…Reveals Michael Enyong ( Babantan) On The Run Over Fraud , Forgery
Promiment Constitutional Lawyer and former Attorney-General, Mr Uwem Nwoko, SAN, has affirmed that Pastor Umo Eno is the INEC-recognised gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in Akwa- Ibom State.
Speaking at an interactive session with journalists, Mr Nwoko stated that by virtue of the law, any other person claiming to be a candidate is an imposter who is living in dream land.
He stated that though a serving Federal House of Representatives Member, Michael Enyong popularly called Babantan obtained a judgment, the PDP has filed a stay of execution at the Federal High Court, Abuja and also approached Court of Appeal which has effectively stopped any cause of action and keeps Umo Eno in his position.
He noted that it is as a result of these legal steps that INEC has continued to recognize the seasoned entrepreneur as the authentic candidate.
He then revealed that he has petitioned the police regarding infractions such as impersonation, fraud and forgery commited by Enyong while filing this case against Eno.
He said that having studied his petition, the police has invited Enyong for questioning but he has not only failed to show up but has been on the run
He called on Mr Enyong to submit himself to the nearest police station to clear his name and respond to the weighty allegations.
He urged members of the public to ignore what he observed as a series of misinformation peddled on the social media by purveyors of fake news, stating that based on three grounds of fraud, lack of due service to parties listed, and lack of jurisdiction, the purported judgment obtained by Mike Enyong was not tenable anywhere.
He then queried ” If he is sure of himself why has he not got the courage to present his fraudulently obtained judgement to INEC up till now?. Even if he approaches INEC, it will not be be executed. PDP through its representative, Paul Usoro, (SAN) has filed a stay of execution. By that stay of execution motion at the Court of Appeal, Mike Enyong is not and cannot be candidate of the PDP in Akwa Ibom State, because the purported judgement he has is not valid. The judgement he is holding was obtained by fraud”.
“I was at INEC headquarters on Friday, they have not received any letter from him. He has not written to INEC or even attempted to present that judgement or ask INEC to substitute his name with Umo Eno’s”.
“As at yesterday, I took time to access INEC website and this documents which I printed out in coloured form, was downloaded from INEC website yesterday.
“At any point in time you can verify and confirm that Pastor Umo Eno is the PDP candidate in Akwa Ibom State.
“Mike Enyong claims that he obtained judgement from the Federal High Court Abuja and that the judgement now makes him a candidate of the PDP. Let me state here that the judgement which was obtained by fraud and which he has carefully refused to bring to the public, does not in anyway tamper with the candidacy of Umo Bassey Eno”.
The former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice wondered why a public officer of Enyong’s standing would condescend to the extent of forging signatures of the National Chairman of the PDP, National Secretary, National Organizing Secretary of the PDP, and other officials, appointed his own returning officer and even went as far as forging the official letter headed paper of the party and presented same before the court, where he obtained this fraudulent judgement.
He emphasized that such criminal act which runs foul of the law cannot be swept under the carpet.
In detailing the illegalities and irregularities trailing the filling of the suit by Mr Enyong, Barr. Nwoko termed the case a nullity abinitio, emphasising that the Nigerian constitution in Section 285 and sub Section 9 provides a time line of 14 days for the filing of any suit pertaining to pre-election matters of which the Plaintiff clearly defaulted.
“It is on record that the PDP gubernatorial primaries took place on the 25th of May 2022 and Mr Enyong filed the case on 1st August of the same year, a clear 69 days after the event took place.”
Barr. Nwoko alleged that the suit, FHC ABJ CS 12952022 was fraudulently filed and judgment obtained fraudulently too and therefore cannot stand.
He continued thus: “Take note that this will not be the first time that Mr Enyong has filed a case on this matter. Precisely On 7th June 2022, the Plaintiff had filed a suit(FHC ABJ CS 8202022) in a Federal High Court in Abuja joining Pst Umo Eno as a second defendant but he mischievously withdrew this suit knowing it will be a failed endeavour:
Nwoko stated further that Mr Enyong did not serve the PDP that he joined in the suit while filing. According to him “Order 14 and Rule 10 of the Federal High Court, explicitly states that lack of Service, lack of Jurisdiction and fraud are the core basis that cases like his are always set aside and this will not be different.
He enjoined Akwa -Ibom people especially members of the PDP and supporters of Pastor Eno not to panic because he is certain that Umo Eno’s position as PDP candidate will not change and will be reaffirmed by the courts.
