Chief Edozie Njoku’s comments that he had decided to accept the Supreme Court’s judgment was just meant to soothe his ego and that of his co-travellers. Afterall, they do not have an option.
He was not just removed; because he was never the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in the first place; and cannot even enjoy the privilege of being referred to as the party’s former chairman.
If possible, any benefit enjoyed or privilege conferred on him within the miscontrued period of recognition by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) or anybody should be erased from the nation’s archives.
The recent Supreme Court judgment though had put to rest the unnecessary controversy surrounding the national chairmanship of APGA and Chief Njoku’s claim to the position has been nullified; but it’s essential to set the record straight.
The truth is that the Supreme Court’s correction of an accidental slip in its judgment of October 14, 2021, did not confer chairmanship on Njoku. The court’s decision was merely a correction of a clerical error and did not alter the substantive judgment delivered on October 14, 2021, which affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal Kano.
The Court of Appeal Kano Division had previously invalidated the purported APGA National Convention allegedly held in Owerri Imo State on May 31, 2019, and procured the infamous Birnin Kudu High Court Judgment.
The Court of Appeal had held that Chief Victor Ike Oye was the validly elected Chairman of APGA, having gotten the judgment of the Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka in Suit No: A/92/2020 delivered on November 18, 2020, which validated the APGA National Convention held on May 31, 2019.
It’s worth noting that there are three subsisting judgments of the Court of Appeal on APGA leadership, validating the APGA National Convention held in Awka, Anambra State, in 2019, which elected Chief Victor Ike Oye as APGA National Chairman. One of these judgments has been affirmed by the Supreme Court on October 14, 2021.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has also been misled into recognizing Njoku as the APGA National Chairman. However, INEC’s defense to justify the recognition of Njoku is unfounded, as there is no evidence that APGA conducted parallel National Conventions in 2019.
In conclusion, Edozie Njoku’s claim to the APGA national chairmanship is baseless and misleading. The Supreme Court’s correction of an accidental slip in its judgment did not confer chairmanship on Njoku. The Court of Appeal judgments and the Supreme Court’s affirmation of the APGA National Convention held in Awka, Anambra State, in 2019, which elected Chief Victor Ike Oye as APGA National Chairman, are clear evidence that Njoku was never the APGA chairman in the first place.
