Chief Edozie Njoku, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), says Nigerians should hold the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) responsible for the leadership crisis rocking the party following the Commission’s failure to obey the judgement of the Supreme Court.
Chief Njoku, who addressed a press conference in Abuja on Friday over the refusal of INEC to recognise and act on the Supreme Court judgement three months after it was given, alerted that the 2023 elections may not hold if INEC is not called to order.
“…our democracy is at a very perilous juncture. I’m calling on Nigerians, especially the National Assembly, the Attorney General of the Federation and President Buhari to take note that if INEC continues on this trajectory, 2023 elections may not hold,” he said.
“This is the first time a Supreme Court judgement is tossed about with so much temerity and disdainful arrogance.”
Speaking on the attitude of the INEC leadership to the Supreme Court judgement, Chief Njoku lamented that Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman, has refused to obey the July 15, 2022 judgement released by the apex court.
” It is more than three months since the Supreme Court corrected its judgement of October 14th, 2021 in Suit No; SC/CV/686/2021. The correction struck out Victor Oye’s name and replaced it with Chief Edozie Njoku, my humble self,” he said.
He maintained that the judgement had laid all litigations and disputes about APGA leadership to rest, wondering what were the motives of INEC for not honouring the court order three months after.
“We are worried. Is this a plot to frustrate the 2023 elections? Why has INEC not obeyed the court judgement? Njoku asked.
He said APGA was aware of all moves by Victor Oye’s group, using senior lawyers notorious for compromising judicial officers to thwart the content of the judgement which INEC has already been served.
According to him, INEC’s silence over ‘our recognition is to enable Oye and his people to conclude what they are hatching at the Supreme Court.
He, however, said that the party has written to Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, on the matter and awaiting his action.
Earlier in July, Cheif Chekwas Okorie, the Founder and presidential candidate of APGA, had noted that there would be no relenting in drawing the attention of Nigerians and the relevant authorities to the danger posed to the 2023 general election arising from the shocking prevarication of the INEC in recognizing Chief Njoku as the authentic and lawful National Chairman of APGA.
Chekwas explained that in an application dated 6th May 2022, the counsel to Chief Njoku drew the attention of the panel of five Supreme Court Justices presided by Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili to the mistake in their judgment of 14th October 2021, which mistakenly referred to Dr Victor Oye as the National Chairman of APGA whose purported suspension by one Chief Jude Okeke was not justiciable.
He said the panel found this application to be meritorious, relying on Order 8, Rule 16 of the Supreme Court of Nigeria which states, “The Supreme Court can or by a letter (application) review any judgment once given and delivered by it save to correct any clerical mistake or some error arising from any accidental slip or omission, or do vary the judgment or order as to give effect to its meaning or intention”.
Okorie stated further that the panel promptly corrected the mistake which had earlier referred to Oye as National Chairman to now read, “ It needs to be stated at this point that the dispute being who should be acting National Chairman of the 1st respondent, APGA and whether the Chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku was validly replaced is within the confines of the internal affairs of the 1st respondent which is not justiciable. There are a plethora of judicial authorities on the point that this matter is cropping up at this time.”
According to APGA, “The corrected judgment also expunged the name of Dr Victor Oye as the 2nd respondent and replaced it with the name of Chief Edozie Njoku. This judgment was duly certified by the Registrar of the Supreme Court and signed by the Chairman of the panel, Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili delivered the lead judgment. INEC was duly served this corrected judgment. INEC also directed its legal team to obtain the Commission’s copy of the corrected judgment being the 4th respondent in the suit.”