By Austin Ogwuda
... says “there is no limitation of tenure for Legislators in our country’s Constitution”
... the office of the Legislator is not by appointment, nomination or a gift”
“Any attempt to use intimidation, threat or subterfuge to deny Rt Hon Nicholas Ebomo Mutu his constitutional rights to contest any election should be resisted by all well meaning Nigerians”.
These were the words of a group known as ‘Patani APC VANGUARD’, in a strongly-worded letter to the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dated 6th May 2027.
It is titled: ‘Position of Patani Local Government APC VANGUARD on the Patani Bomadi House of Representatives Seat’ and signed by Mr. Frank Ebikefe – Convener and Hon. Owhofataro Ejakpovi Justice – Secretary.
It reads in part:
“Mr Chairman,
This letter is written to you because it has become necessary to address a few misconceptions and a display of ignorance by a group of people who desire elective office but are afraid to face the people they want to represent in a party primaries.
“They have, instead, hired a few people to demonstrate, take the the social media and conventional media to exhibit their ignorance about democratic norms.
“It is on record that Rt Hon Nicholas Ebomo Mutu has been representing the good people of Patani/ Bomadi federal constituency effectively since 1999 and the evidence abound across the federal constituency.
“At every election, people from Patani local government area contested against Rt Hon Nicholas Ebomo Mutu either in the primaries or general elections.
There was no time Rt Hon Nicholas Ebomo Mutu was prevailed upon not to contest in the PDP primaries, because he was an asset to the PDP.
“It is therefore strange that some people are clamouring against his aspiration to seek election and want the leadership of the APC to disqualify him and hand over the ticket to them on a platter of gold.
“Mr Chairman, as stakeholders, we in one voice say that we are in support of Rt Hon Nicholas Ebomo Mutu submitting himself to the electorates and we will abide by whatever the people will decide.
“We are opposed to any attempt to prevent him from participating in the APC primaries.
We are against any attempt to blackmail Rt Hon Nicholas Ebomo Mutu out of the APC primaries.
Let everyone interested go before the electorates to test their popularity.
“It will be undemocratic and unconstitutional to prevent Rt Hon Nicholas Ebomo Mutu from participating in the APC primaries .
We are convinced that you (APC National Chairman) will toe the part of constitutionality in this case”, the letter added.
