ABUJA — A House of Representatives candidate in Delta State under the All Progressives Congress, APC, platform, Christopher Erhodyne, has alleged that the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun and the governorship candidate of the state, O’tega Emerhor, forged his death certificate and presented it to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disqualify him from election.
To this end, the politician has begun legal processes aimed at committing the duo to prison, saying their alleged action contravened the laws of Nigeria, as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended.)
Erhodyne told journalists at a news briefing in Abuja, that the action of the APC chairman and the party’s governorship candidate in Delta State was carried out after he was unanimously endorsed as candidate of APC during the party’s December 7thHouse of Assembly primary election, to represent Sapele,Okpe and Uvwie Federal Constituency, in Delta State.
He insisted that having won the contest against the alleged preferred candidate of Oyegun and O’tega at the primary, they resorted to frustrating his questing to contest the main election by forging his death certificate and submitting same to INEC just as they replaced his candidature with one Gibson Akporhe.
“ I contested the primaries on the 7th of December, and was returned unopposed. Before the contest, I had bought the party’s nomination form for N2.1 million. I travelled to the US after the primary but discovered when returned to the country that one Cyril Ogodor, the Deputy Chairman the APC in Delta State had removed my name and replaced it with another person who did not contest primaries at all.
“I met the state Chairman of APC over the issue and he told me that he was not aware of it. I met the leader of the party, O’tega Emerhor, candidate for governorship of the state, who now instructed that Cyril Ogodor should go back and put my name because I am the candidate.
“My name was fixed back as directed. After my name appear, surprisingly, after two weeks, I got an information that they want to remove my name and put Gibson Akporhe’s I now went to INEC, I learnt they want to remove my name saying that I am dead, that was the information I got.
“I also wrote a letter to APC that I am alive and some people are trying to change my name that I am dead. Surprisingly, on February 2nd, before then, we went for campaign at Ororope, I was surprised that O’tega said that in six days time, we would know who the House of Representatives candidate is and who is going to be a commissioner between me and Akporhe.
“He made that statement while we were at the podium and when we left the podium, I now asked O’tega that ‘why are you declaring my seat vacant, are you trying to sell my mandate, did I do anything wrong? He smiled and left, he didn’t answer me.
“On February 2nd, he came to Sapele, my home town for campaign and gave the House of Assembly person APC flag but did not give me. I was surprised. It was the evening of that same day that they called me from Abuja that they had substituted me that I am dead and that if I know I am alive, I should come to Abuja by 7am the next day.
“For this, we left Warri 11 pm and drove overnight to get to Abuja and got to Abuja 6am and went to see the head of legal unit of INEC, Mr Bawa,who showed me a letter written to INEC that I am dead. He was surprised and said how was he sure that I am the person.
He asked for the passport which I used while filing the form and I gave him and even brought out so many documents including bank documents for him to know that I am alive and that I am the person who is Christopher Erhodyne Anirah.
“They now assured me that they can never changed my name again but they asked me to go and see the National Chairman of APC to write another letter that I am alive and I went to see the Oyegun but I did not meet him except his personal assistant, who was even surprised that I am alive.
“I went to meet Oyegun the next day morning in his house and he was surprised that I was the person who he signed that I was dead. He aplogised and called executive meeting in the office the next day where he told them to see what Deltans were doing.
“ He apologized and told me that he would change the name but surprisingly, I waited for like three, four, five days, Oyegun did not change the name. They later resubmitted the same death certificate to INEC that I am dead and that if I was aggrieved, I should go to court.
“This was a conspiracy between Oyegun and O’tega and I want to tell that I am heading to the law court to commit those involved in this devilish act to prison,” he disclosed.
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