SDP disowns Senatorial candidate in Anambra

The party asked Chukwuelue to stop parading himself as a member of the party, insisting he was never a candidate of the SDP in the election. The party’s position followed the petition filed by Chukwuelue at the Election Petition Tribunal, Awka, against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Sen. Uche Ekwunife over unlawful exclusion of his party (SDP) logo on the ballot by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Addressing newsmen Tuesday in Awka, the party’s State Vice Chairman, Anambra Central, Angela Nnaneme, said the party would not to sit back and watch Chukwuelue blackmail and deceive the people of the zone with his frivolous and unwarranted petition. She said the party never registered Chukwuelue as a member nor conducted any primary election to elect him as the party’s flagbearer for the election. Nnaneme, flanked by the State Chairman, Chief Charles Ezeonyirimba and all the seven local government chairmen of the party in the senatorial district, accused Chukwuelue of desperation for power. While condemning his petition in its entirety, the party described it as a deliberate and vicious attempt to truncate the progress and development the election of Sen. Uche Ekwunife would bring to the senatorial district. Read Also: Polls: SDP sues INEC, Ekwunife over wrongful exclusion She said the party’s confidence was in the fact that the electoral umpire would neither include nor publish his name nor the party in the election. Nnaneme said, “Barr. Tony Chukwuelue was never a member of Social Democratic Party Anambra and as non-member, he cannot be a candidate of our party as our constitution provides. “Barrister Tony Chukwuelue in his desperation to get power joined one Dr. Webster Okonkwo who was former SDP state Deputy Chairman but voluntarily resigned his position from SDP in his letter dated July 31, 2018. “The said Dr. Webster Okonkwo after he had resigned his position as the state Deputy Chairman, to the surprise of the Social Democratic Party in Anambra state declared himself the chairman of Social Democratic Party Anambra state and started parading Barr. Tony Chukwuelue and others as candidates for the 2019 general elections. She attributed the delay in making the party’s stance known weeks after election to the time it took to get an order after approaching the court to stop the alleged illegal actions of Okonkwo. She said, “On Thursday, the 14th day of February, 2019, the court granted an injunction in the motion No: A/2032M/2018 restraining the said Dr. Webster Okonkwo from parading himself as the state chairman of Social Democratic Party and also restrained INEC from recognizing the list of names of candidates emanated from the said Dr. Webster Okonkwo which Barr. Tony Chukwuelue is one of the candidates.”]]>