By Uzo Ugwunze
National Headquarters of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, has given the Anambra State chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Comrade Dr Anthony Ugozor a clean bill to contest for his second term in office come 18th July, 2025, if he so wishes.
This is contained in a letter from the national headquarters signed personally by the National President of NUP, Comrade Godwin I. Abumisi and the General Secretary, Elder Actor Zal dated 7th April, 2025.
According to the letter, there is no place in the NUP constitution that forbids Chief Ugozor as Acting Chairman not to contest a substantive chairman if he so wishes whenever such an opportunity arises.
The national headquarters of NUP insisted that it has no constitutional powers to stop Comrade (Dr) Anthony Ugozor from contesting in the July forthcoming election if he so wishes as only the delegates shall determine his fate at the poll.
The letter with reference number NUP/NHQ/AS/6/Vol.Vii read in part: ” we refer to your letter and enquiries on the status of the Anambra State chairman, Comrade (Dr) Anthony Ugozor and his eligibility to contest and participate in the forthcoming state council election.
” We want to place on record that the inability of the National Headquarters to conduct Anambra State election in 2017 was as a result a court order that prohibited us from going ahead with the election as scheduled. The order was served on us a day before the election that status-quo should remain until the determination of the suit.
” With the court pronouncement, the National Headquarters was left with no other option than to allow Dr Anthony Ugozor to continue to act as the Acting Chairman as nature abhors vacuum. Unfortunately,the suit lasted for more than five years, and as a law abiding organization, we were left with no other option than to abide. The period he served while acting was neither Dr. Ugozor nor the National Headquarters making.
“It should be emphasized that these same people that went to court to punctuate the election were the same people that turned around now to question the legality of the same process. You cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time.
” Finally, since there is no place in our Union’s constitution that forbade Acting Chairman not to contest as a substantive chairman if he so wishes whenever such an opportunity arises, we therefore have no constitutional power to stop Comrade (Dr.) Anthony Ugozor from contesting in the forthcoming election if he so wishes. The delegates will determine his fate at the poll.
” While we appreciate your understanding, accept the assurances of our highest regards”.
The letter from the NUP national secretariat was a sequel to a petition by Association of Retired Directors of the Anambra State Civil Service led by Sir Fidelis C. Ezeike as chairman and Sir Azuka Okeke as secretary accusing Chief (Dr) Anthony Ugozor of tenure elongation and called for his immediate resignation.
Their petition read: ” Unconstitutional elongation of tenure by the chairman Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Anambra State Chapter (2016-2025) a Clarion call for you to direct the immediate resignation of Chief Dr. Anthony Ugozor.
They accused Ugozor of not qualified to contest the forthcoming June election having overstayed more than 2 terms of 8 years by additional 1 year. They also accused him of usurping powers unconstitutionally and acted with high level of impunity while mismanaging the affairs of NUP.
But the national headquarters of NUP after going through the petition and seven sins of Ugozor absolved him or any wrong doing.
In his reaction, the substantive NUP chairman elected 20th July, 2021, Comrade Dr. Anthony C. Ugozor, JP described the petition as self serving, petty, parochial, mischievous, callous, baseless and unfounded targeted only to massage the egos of the writers and nothing else, hence, it should be discarded outrightly.
He added that his only sin was not buying into the discriminatory classification of Pensioners between retired directors and other Pensioners even when retired directors are unknown to the law, thus not an entity and of no effect in issues concerning Pensioner’s union in any way.