The Ezinihitte Progressives has observed the orchestrated jubilation and premature triumphalism in some quarters over the publication of names by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), wherein the name of Rep. Emeka Chinedu was listed as the candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) for the January 16, 2027 National Assembly election for Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Federal Constituency.
We wish to state, with all sense of responsibility, clarity and legal erudition, that there is nothing to celebrate. What will be, will definitely be. Que Sera, Sera.
INEC WILL NOT DO WHAT IT HAS NOT BEEN ASKED TO DO:
It is elementary knowledge in electoral jurisprudence that INEC, as an administrative and regulatory body, does not act as Father Christmas. INEC does not disqualify candidates on its own volition. INEC does not enforce Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2026 as affirmed by the Supreme Court in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party (September 24, 2026) suo motu.
INEC will not do what it has not been formally asked to do through the proper legal channel.
The publication of a name in the provisional or final list is not a certification of eligibility. It is merely an administrative act pending the activation of the enforcement mechanism provided by law. INEC publishes what parties submit. It is for aggrieved parties and interested candidates to invoke the jurisdiction of the appropriate court or tribunal to compel enforcement.
This is the law. This has always been the law.
Therefore, the mere appearance of Rep. Chinedu’s name on INEC’s list changes nothing in law and changes nothing in fact. It is, at best, a fleeting administrative notation, not a judicial validation.
THOSE WHO KNOW WHAT TO DO, KNOW WHEN TO DO IT:
We wish to reassure the good people of Ahiazu and Ezinihitte that the candidates of other political parties, the critical stakeholders, and all those who have the requisite locus standi, know exactly what to do, and will do it at the right time.
Election litigation is not a media trial. It is not conducted on Facebook or on village squares. It is a meticulously timed, legally calibrated process. There is a time to file. There is a time to serve. There is a time to compel INEC to act. Those who are legally seized of this matter are not sleeping. They are watching. They are documenting. And at the appropriate time prescribed by the Electoral Act and the Constitution, they will act.
REP. CHINEDU’S CANDIDACY REMAINS UNALIVED BY LAW:
We reiterate our earlier, uncontroverted position which remains unchallenged till date:
As at May 2026 when all political parties submitted their membership registers to INEC in compliance with Section 77 of the Electoral Act, 2026, Rep. Emeka Chinedu was a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He only resigned from the APC on July 20, 2026.
Therefore, except by manipulation, forgery or executive magic, his name could not have been in the YPP register submitted in May. His former party, the APC, in its letter of October 9, 2026 co-signed by its National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, has already called on INEC to enforce the Supreme Court judgment and apply consequences for non-compliance.
Flowing from the above, Rep. Chinedu’s candidacy remains unalived by law. It is a candidacy that is void ab initio. It is a legal stillbirth. It may parade on billboards, but it cannot stand in the temple of justice.
It will only require an enforceable action, a simple application before a court of competent jurisdiction to get it vacated and nullified. And that enforceable action is coming the right time. Que Sera, Sera.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR VOTE — THIS THIRD TERM CIRCUS IS A FAREWELL FUNFAIR:
We passionately appeal to our brothers and sisters in Ahiazu and Ezinihitte: Do not waste your precious votes.
Any vote cast for a candidacy that is unalived by law is a vote cast into the abyss. It is a vote that will not count. It is a vote put in the bin. The Supreme Court judgment is clear. INEC has been put on notice. The disqualification petition is on record.
What Rep. Emeka Chinedu is doing today, going from community to community with music, canopies and branded regalia, is not a campaign. It is a funfair. It is a farewell funfair. It is the last carnival of a seven-year misadventure that brought no voice to Ahiazu/Ezinihitte in the National Assembly.
We urge Ndi Ahiazu and Ndi Ezinihitte to remain calm, resolute and law-abiding. Do not be distracted by the funfair. What will be, will definitely be.
The law will prevail over noise. Equity will prevail over greed. Justice will prevail over desperation.
Thank your for your rapt attention on this matter.
Signed:
Aic Akwarandu
Convener, Ezinihitte Progressives
