Enugu LP raises alarm as Edeoga threatens suicide over anticipated unfavourable judgment

By Diribe Ikem

Concerned members of the Labour Party in Enugu State have raised an alarm over the growing state of health and likelihood of depression of the party’s governorship candidate, Chief Chijioke Edeoga, following the judgments of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) and the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal (NAEPT) sitting in Abuja and Enugu respectively dismissing the petition filed by Mr Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the party against President Ahmed Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, and sacking Prof. Sunday Nnamchi, lawmaker representing Isi-Uzo/Enugu East federal constituency at the House of Representatives under the Labour Party.

Edeoga, who recently expressed dismay at the PEPT judgment, accusing the justices of receiving huge bribe from “Tinubu, a drug peddler, serial certificate forger, ex-convict and election rigger,” said Obi would win at the Supreme Court since they had resolved never to recognise Tinubu as authentic president of Nigeria but Mr Obi.

However, staunch party members from the state chapter of the Labour Party had said they were worried over sudden withdrawal of Hon. Edeoga from the public following his earlier threat that if the tribunal rules against him, he might consider suicide as the next option. This newspaper, however, could not confirm the claim of threat of suicide as calls made to Hon. Edeoga was not picked nor did he reply the text message sent to him as at the time of filing this report..

The Labour Party governorship candidate was said to have lamented the huge debt hanging on his neck and how banks and other individuals financing his case at the tribunal had been pestering around him to repay them with unconscionable interests.

Edeoga, who said he would not stay alive to face the shame of bankruptcy, further threatened that he might have no option than to end his life should the tribunal follows the precedent recently set by the PEPT in delivering its reserved judgment.

Sources close to the former commissioner of environment said they were surprised to see that their huge investment in the “All Eyes on the Judiciary” and other forms of protests on the mainstream and social media couldn’t influence the justices, stressing that they would continue to put pressure on the judges to “tilt towards our direction”.

“Our leader and governor, Rt. Hon. Barr Chijioke Edeoga, is really entertaining fears that the judgment of the governorship tribunal will be against him. But he is not sleeping over it. He is also taking steps to reach out to the top judicial officers to do something and get judgment. The recent judgments by these tribunals dismissing Peter Obi’s petition and sacking our House of Representatives member have been devastating to us. Our morale is very low at the moment. We are challenging those black market judgments immediately.

“As human being, you will agree with me that if you’re His Excellency, Barr Chijioke Edeoga, you too will be depressed and suicide-prone with all the huge debt incurred from banks and individuals who are sponsoring the case and this rascality from the tribunals in their recent judgment. We have told our people to put an eye on the movement of our leader to avoid harming himself should he lose at the court.

“The PEPT judges have killed our case with their judgement. You will recall that the case of His Excellency, Peter Obi, and His Excellency, Chijioke Edeoga, were similar. They both pleaded certificate forgery, over-voting, suppression of votes and non qualification. Now, the PEPT had dismissed that of His Excellency, Peter Obi, you can easily predict what would be the fate of our own in Enugu.

“If the tribunal dismisses Edeoga’s case, we will accuse the judges of bribery and use the instrument of social media to run down the credibility of the judgment. Trust what we can do. It is better for that Yoruba woman to deliver judgment in our favour before we will use social media to send her out of the country ,” Engr Ejiofor Ugwuede, a close associate of Edeoga warned.