APGA founder condemns INEC meddlesome attitude in party disputes

Cyril Mbah, Abuja.

The Founder and pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA), Chief (Dr.) Chekwas Okorie has decried the alleged biased attitude of the electoral umpire in the festering dispute which has continued to rock the party since its formation.

Chief Okorie in a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday described as highly despicable the position of the INEC on the leadership problems of APGA pointing out that the unbiased posture of the umpire has kept the dispute alive till date.

The statement titled ”The despicable position of INEC on the national leadership of APGA,” condemned the insensitivity of INEC officials and pleaded for better understanding of the issues involved.

“The sensibilities of most discerning Nigerians were assaulted by a most jaundiced and half baked press release issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), under the hand of the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Festus Okoye, on Tuesday, 9th May, 2023.

“The entire charade drips of mischief, dishonesty, deception and/or poor understanding of the clear and unambiguous, unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on March 24th, 2023.

INEC which has a full fledged Legal Department with not less than three Senior Advocates of Nigeria  (SANs) could not understand or refused to understand that the Supreme Court judgment on suit no. SC/CV/686/2021 delivered on October 14th, 2021 has been appropriately replaced by Appeal no. SC/687/2021 which now has Chief Edozie Njoku as INTERESTED PERSON/PARTY SEEKING TO BE JOINED.

“INEC could not understand or refused to understand that the Supreme Court in the exercise of its inherent jurisdiction corrected the errors of the Jigawa High  Court and the Kano Appeal Court that failed to join Chief Edozie Njoku, whose purported removal as the National Chairman of APGA duly elected at the National  Convention of the Party held at Owerri on 31st May, 2019,  was the subject matter of the suit at the Jigawa High Court that snowballed all the way to the Supreme Court.

“INEC could not understand or refused to understand that their Agent Provocateur, Chief Victor Oye, who never featured at the Owerri Convention of APGA and was never mentioned in the  Jigawa High Court judgment but threw himself into the arena at the Kano Appeal Court was appropriately DELETED in the subsisting judgment of the Supreme Court no. SC /687/2021 delivered on March 24th, 2023.

“It is important at this juncture to educate INEC that suit no. SC/686/2021 has been effectively replaced by suit no. SC/687/2021, using  the authority of Order 8, Rule 16 of the Supreme Court and the inherent jurisdiction of the Court. It therefore follows that any reference to the defunct judgment no. SC/686/2021, as INEC  finds convenient to always do is an exercise in utter mischief, is null and void,”the statement said.