Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa (SAN), the Benue State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has flayed reports making the rounds that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may drop his name from the list of those contesting the 2027 governorship election in the state.
Aondoakaa who was reacting to a report titled: “INEC may drop Aondoakaa from Benue guber race as former AGF begs court for more time to file defence”, described the report as “sensational and deliberately misleading.”
While he noted that the publication “is founded on speculation, falsehood and wishful thinking”, the governorship candidate said it became pertinent to expose “the inaccuracies and mischief contained in the report.”
In a statement by James Ian, Media Assistant to Aondoakaa, and issued to journalists in Makurdi on Saturday, he observed that the claim that he “begged” the court for more time to file a defence was not only “reckless” but also a “distortion of court proceedings.”
He said, “The matter was not ripe for substantive hearing as all parties had not been duly served. Consequently, the suggestion that the PDP candidate sought indulgence because he was unable to defend himself is nothing more than a fabrication designed to create a false impression of panic where none exists.
“Second, the report’s sensational conclusion that INEC may withdraw or drop the candidature of Chief Aondoakaa is entirely speculative and unsupported by any judicial pronouncement. No court has made such an order, and no competent authority has taken any action remotely suggesting such a possibility. The headline was crafted solely to mislead the public and manufacture apprehension”, he said.
The former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, argued that “it is equally important to state that the individuals behind the suit are neither members of the PDP, nor governorship candidates in Benue State.
“They lack any legitimate political stake in the nomination process of the PDP and are merely acting as willing tools in a broader political agenda orchestrated by those unsettled by the overwhelming acceptance and growing popularity of Chief Aondoakaa across Benue State”, the governorship candidate alleged.
Describing as “laughable” the attempt to portray the suit as a threat to the PDP candidate, Ian stated that Aondoakaa has never been convicted by any court of law for fraud, dishonesty or any offence that would disqualify him from seeking public office.
According to the statement throughout his career the former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, served at the highest levels of government and remains one of Nigeria’s most accomplished legal practitioners and public servants.
“The sponsors of this campaign of falsehood are evidently terrified by the momentum of the Aondoakaa/Ogbenjuwa ticket and have resorted to manufacturing legal and media distractions in a desperate bid to achieve through propaganda what they know they cannot achieve at the ballot box.
“We advise those behind these sponsored publications to allow the court to perform its constitutional duty without external manipulation, media trial or political blackmail. Courtrooms are governed by law and evidence, not by sensational headlines, sponsored narratives or the fantasies of political jobbers”, he explained.
Furthermore, “It is instructive that the incumbent Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, faced several legal challenges before and after the 2023 elections, including matters relating to his disqualification for nomination as a candidate of APC for 2023 election.
“Those cases proceeded through the judicial process, and the courts delivered their verdicts. It would therefore be both irresponsible and misleading for anyone to suggest that the institution of a suit against Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, translates into a loss of his candidacy or the invalidation of his nomination”, Ian stressed. End