By Dirisu Yakubu
The crisis over who is the authentic national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance between Chief Victor Oye and Edozie Njoku has deepened over a letter from the Supreme Court.
The apex court, last week, acknowledged receipt of a letter from Njoku to confirm the Supreme Court judgment in suit No: SC/CV/687/2021 between Chief Jude Okeke and APGA (and 3 ORS) where the correction of a clerical error was made and advised him to file the request appropriately, stressing that it would not reverse itself on a judgment based on a clerical issue.
The letter signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Hajo Bello, on behalf of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola with Ref: No: SC/CV/687/20221, addressed Njoku as the APGA national chairman.
Speaking exclusively to The PUNCH on Tuesday, the presidential candidate of the Njoku-led faction of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie, said the implication of last week’s letter by the apex court is that Njoku is the authentic national chairman of the party.
Okorie warned the Independent National Electoral Commission to be wary of the outcome of not according Njoku his due recognition, saying, “Everything Oye did from May 31, 2019, till date is a nullity. Everything Edozie did from 2019 till date including my nomination as a presidential candidate is valid. If INEC continues to remain recalcitrant, the 2023 election will be nullified because the law is clear that if you deny a political party participation in an election, the election will be nullified.”
Reacting to the development, Oye, through the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Tex Okechukwu, accused Njoku of spewing lies and falsehood.
In a statement made available to journalists, Okechukwu urged the public to dismiss Njoku’s acclaim, insisting that Oye remains the National Chairman of APGA.
He said, “We wish to state emphatically and unequivocally that Victor Oye is and remains the National Chairman of APGA.
“To that extent, there is no extant judgment of any court in Nigeria that has pronounced otherwise.”
Source: The Punch
