Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Bwari has affirmed Edozie Njoku the legitimate National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The court in a ruling by Justice Mohammed Madugu said that all actions, decisions, meetings taken by Chief Oye were “illegal, void and of no effect whatsoever.”
Justice Madugu gave the order while delivering judgement on a suit filed against Chief Victor Oye and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by the National Vice Chairman, South West Geopolitical Zone of APGA, Otunba Camaru Lateef Ogidan; the National Welfare Officer of APGA, Alhaji Rabiu Mustapha and two APGA National Working Committee members under the leadership of Chief Edozie Njoku.
The Court ordered Oye and INEC, two respondents in the suit, to obey the judgement of the Supreme Court delivered on October 14, 2021 and was subsequently corrected on March 24, 2023, with the name of Edozie Njoku as Chairman.
Before the Tuesday’s judgement, the court had on May 10, restrained Oye from holding any form of meeting, gathering, state, national congresses or convention pending the determination of the suit. But the interlocutory order was flouted by Oye as he went ahead to conduct APGA’s convention on May 31.
The Supreme Court had made it clear that the removal of Chief Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA was illegal and unconstitutional, adding that subsequent suit to validate his removal was unjustifiable.
The court noted that by the Constitution of APGA, the plaintiffs and all other Members of the National Executive Committee elected at the 31st May, 2019 Convention are entitled to a four-year tenure from when they were elected and only the National Executive Committee led by Chief Njoku and no other person(s) have the powers and authority to call and give notices of any National Executive Committee meeting, congress and convention of any kind or form.
The court further held that the second respondent (INEC) is bound to accept and recognize only decisions of the National Executive Committee led by Chief Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA and recognize and accept only candidates emanating from the primary elections conducted by the plaintiffs’ National Executive Committee led by Chief Njoku for any elections into any office for the 2023 general elections.
Reacting to the decision of the court, Njoku declared that it was a victory for the party which he said would have done better in the concluded general elections.
He said: “God works mysteriously. It was the same Justice Madugu he wanted to use to send me to jail with a lie. It is really a poetic justice. That same Madugu is the one who has now told him that everything they have done was illegal.
“They got a court judgment, saying that they must do their convention before the 31st of May. So, APGA must be very careful. Because nothing else can come out of that group because everything about their convention has ended, so all those illegal actions have been brought to nothing.”
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