By Jude Opara Abuja

Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the factional presidential candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Chief Chekwas Okorie has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of bias in the recognition of the faction by Chief Victor Oye.

Chekwas who is reputed as the founder of the party told newsmen that despite the court ruling recognizing his own faction led by Chief Edozie Njoku, the electoral body is still .

 He cited the case where the Counsel for the Applicants and the Counsel to Chief Dr. Victor Oye both claimed in their submissions to be representing APGA, but the Court ruled in favour of the Njoku faction.

“In his well-considered ruling on 6th day of April, 2022 on the conflicting claims on the legal representation of APGA, the Hon. Justice A.R. Mohammed stated as follows; ‘In view of the position of the law as enunciated in the above stated case and the content of the exhibit CA2, this court have no option but to recognize C.N. Nwagbo Esq as counsel authorized by the 4th Applicant to institute this action in itsname’. For the avoidance of doubt C.N. Nwagbo is the Counsel that represented APGA that held a lawful and legitimate convention of the Party at Owerri, Imo State, on which elected Chief Edozie Njoku as National Chairman and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the 1st Respondent in this suit was duly served with a certified true copy of the Ruling. 

“APGA followed up this with an Application to INEC to recognize the duly elected officers of the party accordingly. It is pertinent to state that up till this time there is no Appeal on this Ruling instituted in any court anywhere in Nigeria. INEC has turned the other face on the Application of APGA for recognition”.

Okorie further noted that prior to the Anambra state governorship election, the same Njoku led faction conducted the primary that produced the incumbent Governor Chukwuma Soludo as the candidate of the party.

“In the build up to the Anambra State Governorship Election on November 6th, 2021, a certain Chief Jude Okeke rushed to Birnin Kudu in Jigawa State and filed suit no JDU/022/2021, which was obviously continued between one Alhaji Garba Aliyu and Chief Jude Okeke and 2 others. It was claimed in this suit that the National Convention of APGA held at Owerri elected Chief Edozie Njoku as National Chairman and himself Chief Jude Okeke as Deputy National Chairman (South). The said Chief Jude Okeke further claimed that the National Chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku was suspended and the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Party elected him as the Acting National Chairman of the Party. All this took place without the knowledge of the National Chairman Chief Edozie Njoku, who was purported to have been suspended. 

“Note also that Dr. Victor Oye was never mentioned anywhere in the Suit, not to talk of being referred to as National Chairman or being suspended by Chief Jude Okeke’s imaginary faction of APGA. INEC in  a jiffy swiftly complied with the judgment of the Jigawa High Court and promptly replaced the name of Professor Chukwuma Soludo with that of Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji being the Governorship Candidate nominated by the Jude Okeke faction of APGA in an unprecedented speedy compliance of the judgment of a Trial Court, in Kano, the Honourable Justice of the Court, set aside the judgment of the Jigawa High Court on the grounds the court lacked territorial jurisdiction to entertain the Suit in the first place Chief Jude Okeke filed an appeal at the Supreme Court without delay.

“On the 14th day of October, 2021 a panel of five Justices of the Supreme Court led by Honourable Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, (JSC) in a judgment which consolidated Suits nos SC/CV/687/2021 and SC/CV/686/2021, upheld the judgment of the appeal Court in Kano that the Jigawa High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the Jude Okeke Suit. On the claim that the National Chairman of APGA Chief Edozie Njoku was suspended by the party, the Honourable Justice Mary Ukaego Peter Odili mistakenly stated that, ‘It needs be stated at this point that he dispute being who should be the Acting National Chairman of the 1st respondent, APGA and whether the chairman, Dr. Victor Oye was validly replaced are within the confines of the internal affairs of the 1st respondent which is not justiciable.

There is a plethora of judicial authorities on the point hence it is surprising that this matter is cropping at up this time’. 

“The eagle eyes of the Chief Edozie Njoku’s Counsel identified the mistake contained in the judgment and applied to the Supreme Court Panel on May 6, 2022 letter addressed to Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili”.

Okorie further wondered why it appears to be difficult for the same INEC that swiftly comply with the ruling that earlier recognize the sacking of Njoku to also comply with the ruling upholding him as the authentic Chairman of the party.

“While it was convenient for INEC to promptly comply with the October 14, 2020 judgment of the Supreme Court which contained the mistake, which Dr. Victor Oye Celebrated as having been affirmed the National Chairman of APGA by the Apex Court.  In fact INEC complied within the 48 hours of its delivery, the same INEC has turned its face away from the duly corrected judgment nearing 60 days after the correction.

“The corrected judgment has been subjected to repeated verification and unwarranted investigation without finding faults either with the veracity of the correction or its authenticity.

“It is pertinent to state that for the first time in 18 years, since 2004, there is no APGA leadership dispute pending in any courts in Nigeria. Judgments in Suit nos FHC/BAU/CS/10/2021 and SC/CV/686/2021 unambiguously affirmed chief Edozie Njoku as the lawful and authentic National Chairman of APGA, thus the only National Chairman of the party legally qualified to nominate valid candidate to contest the 2023 general on election the platform of APGA. 

“INEC must have an ulterior intention instigate another round of litigations in a political party that has finally found peace after 18 long years of various forms of leadership crises, some of which were fuelled by INEC, INEC should give APGA the liberty and latitude to develop and grow like other political parties. APGA is one of the two oldest surviving political Party in Nigeria along with the PDP, but has suffered a debilitating stunted growth due to unprecedented prolonged leadership crises”. 

He therefore concluded that the Chief Edozie Njoku faction is the obvious beneficiary of the corrected version of the judgment of the Supreme Court duly signed by the presiding  Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili and certified by the Registrar of the Supreme Court.