The Minister of State Labour and Employment Nkiruka Onyejeocha has been fingered at the centre of an alleged plot to compromise the outcome of the Bende Federal Constituency election.
To achieve this, Onyejeocha has reportedly given $100,000 as a kickback to factional Action Alliance leadership to thwart the mandate of the people.
The group led by factional chairman, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, and the secretary, Suleiman AbdulRasheed are sponsoring some persons to impersonate Ifeanyi Igbokwe, the House of Representatives candidate of the Action Alliance, filing frivolous petitions in his name.
Meanwhile, Igbokwe has severally dissociated himself from any legal action challenging the February 25th elections.
Recall that Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu, who is the deputy speaker of the House, was declared winner of the polls with 10,020 against his closest rival, Frank Chinasa, of the Labour Party (LP) who polled 6,818 votes.
After the declaration of the result, Igbokwe allegedly filed a petition to challenge Mr Kalu’s victory at the National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Umuahia, the state capital.
The court struck out the petition after Mr Igbokwe raised the alarm that he never filed a petition or authorised anyone to challenge the outcome of the election on his behalf.
He recently lamented the impersonators have also filed another petition challenging the decision of the tribunal at the Court of Appeal.
Fresh facts have emerged that Onyejeocha is sponsoring the impersonators to cause a crisis among the leadership of the House.
Top sources in the ruling party claim that the minister is targeting either the job of the Speaker, Rt Hon Tajudeen Abbas, or his Deputy Kalu.
“There have been rumours that Onyejeocha is working against her party for her selfish agenda. I can confirm to you that it is true,” our insider said.
“Onyejeocha is not content being Minister of State. She wants more and has decided to go to any length to achieve her aim. Whether it means impersonating and bribing judges.
” Onyejeocha had secured victory at the National Assembly Elections tribunal and she is making plans to return to the House of Reps. In connivance with some AA members, she has continued to file petitions challenging the Bende elections.
“But her desperation reached a new level when she bribed the already compromised and disgraced AA faction to the tune of $100,000. She is ready to do more. This is a woman obsessed with power”.
A member of the AA who wants to remain anonymous confirmed that the Labour minister has bought over some of the party’s leaders.
“We are aware of Onyejeocha’s romance with some of our senior party members. At first, we thought she was considering joining us,” the AA member said.
“However, there seems to be another interest. Many have said she is aiming to return to the House as Deputy Speaker and has seen our party as a mercenary to frustrate the winner of the polls.
“It is sad for our democracy that one big is single-handedly working against the will of the people. Worse, she is not even from Bende or Abia State. Shame!”
The matter is currently being investigated by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Monitoring Team.
