SWAN: National leadership voids Ebonyi council election illegal, declares it null and void.
By Amarachukwu Egwu-Agha, Abakaliki
The National office of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria has condemned the purported State council election held in Ebonyi State, declaring it illegal, null and void.
The National President of Association, Comrade Isaiah Benjamin made the declaration Friday while reacting to the purported election said to have produced Ndubuisi Nwogha as Chairman.
Comrade Benjamin noted that the development showed an obviously compromised Electoral Committee Chairman in connivance with some less than a handful of persons, and in total negligence of his Committee Secretary and members, should gather in a place and carry out a Kangaroo meeting without due diligence and respect for the statutes of the Association, and still had the effrontery to call it an election.
He enjoined all genuine members of the Association at all levels to disregard the purported election and all results emanating from it, adding that the national leadership of the body would soon give further communication concerning the illegality.
Benjamin said: “Whatever they have done is illegality, and it cannot work.
“Let me reiterate that I am not for anybody. I am for everybody, but justice must be done.
“No matter what it takes, if this is the last thing I will do, this insanity must not stand.
“I even told the Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development himself, and he saw the letter postponing the election based on obvious inconsistencies in the entire process.
“How can 15 people just go and gather somewhere and said they have done election.
What nonsense! Who does that?
“In few days, we will take decision on that, and it will be communicated accordingly to everybody in power, including the police, DSS, the Civil Defence and others.”
Recall that the Ebonyi SWAN election scheduled to hold Friday, 6th December 2024 by 10am was postponed indefinitely by a letter from the office of the National President on the early hours of the said date.
The letter was based on non-adherence to the status of who qualifies to vote and be voted for, petitions on ground that needed to be treated accordingly and issues surrounding allegations of non-practicing journalists and sports writers, among others.
The Electoral Committee Chairman, Chukwuemeka Opara, in defiance of the postponement letter had gone ahead, in collusion with the National Vice President, South east, Comrade Ikemefuna Asika and some state government functionaries to hold a Kangaroo election with people gathered from the streets as the purported voters.
Meanwhile, a cross section of SWAN members in the state have condemned the action of Chukwuemeka Opara and the National Vice President, Southeast, Ikemefuna Asika describing it as gross insubordination which should not go unpunished.
Some of them who spoke to newsmen, including Chinedu Ngwuta and Pascal Ikele described the development as quite disturbing, and admonished that all the dissident should be adequately reprimanded to save the Association from national embarrassment.
