FULL TEXT OF THE PRESS
CONFRENCE BY APGA NATIONAL CHAIRMAN BAR. SLY EZEOKENWA HELD AT THE APGA
NATIONAL SECRETARIAT COMPLEX KATAMPE ABUJA ON WEDNESDAY 28TH AUGUST,2024.
MISINTERPRETATION OF
THE SUPREME COURT’S CORRECTION OF AN ACCIDENTAL SLIP IN ITS JUDGMENT OF
14/10/2021 ON APGA LEADERSHIP TUSSLE AND THE RECENT INEC ERRONEOUS RECOGNITION
OF ONE CHIEF EDOZIE NJOKU AS APGA NATIONAL CHAIRMAN.
Distinguished members of the National Working
Committee
Esteemed party members
Gentlemen of the Press
It is my utmost pleasure to welcome you to this press briefing today at
the National Secretariat Complex of APGA. If you recall, we had a similar press
conference just about a month ago following the erroneous recognition accorded
to one Edozie Njoku by INEC purportedly as the National Chairman of APGA, a
position which I still lawfully occupy. What was rather intriguing is the claim
by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that its decision was
pursuant to an alleged court order. Sadly, INEC is yet to furnish us or even
the members of the public with the phantom court order that compelled them to
take the obnoxious decision.
This press conference has become necessary today mainly for two reasons;
Firstly, is the recent Counter Affidavit filed by INEC at the Federal
High Court in the suit instituted by APGA and I challenging the said decision
of INEC to unlawfully accord recognition to the said Edozie Njoku and;
Secondly, in view of a vital document on APGA Leadership, a Certified True Copy of the
Supreme Court official notification to Edozie Njoku’s lawyer wherein the former
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, on behalf of the
Supreme Court, clarified the apex court’s position on the correction of the clerical
error in its judgment of 14/10/2021 which was only recently issued to us by the
Supreme Court to the effect that it never at any time declared Chief Edozie
Njoku as APGA National Chairman by its ruling of 24/3/2023 that will warrant his
recognition by INEC.
I will start by joining well-meaning Nigerians to congratulate
the just sworn-in Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, CFR on her
historic ascension to office as the 2nd ever female Chief Justice of
Nigeria. I urge her Lordship to use her wealth of experience, integrity and
proven track records to strengthen the nation’s justice delivery system as well
as bring about the needed reforms in the justice sector. Her ascension to
office could not have come at a better time than now given the myriads of
challenges facing the nation’s judiciary, one of which is the current misinterpretation
by some courts and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the
correct effect of a mere correction of an accidental slip in the judgment of
the Supreme Court delivered on the 14/10/2021 in Appeal No: SC/CV/686/2021 which is now generating
needless confusion within the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), amongst
other challenges facing our nation`s judiciary.
BACKGROUND TO THE
MATTER LEADING TO THE SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT.
It will be recalled
that sometime in 2021 in the build up to the Anambra Governorship Election, one
Chief Jude Okeke and his group, acting in concert/connivance with one Edozie
Njoku, went all the way to Birnin Kudu, Jigawa State in a futile attempt to
validate their purported APGA National Convention allegedly held in Owerri Imo
State on May 31, 2019 and procured the infamous Birnin Kudu High Court Judgment
which was later set aside. The then APGA National Chairman Chief Victor Oye and APGA appealed against the infamous Birnin Kudu
Judgment in Appeal No. CA/KN/146/2021.
The Court of Appeal Kano Division allowed the appeal and invalidated both the
proceedings of the Jigawa State High Court and the judgment delivered by the
said court. In its judgment delivered on 10/8/2021, the Court of Appeal, Kano
Division held thus:
“On
the whole therefore, this appeal has merit, it succeeds and is hereby allowed.
Consequently, the entire proceedings of the Jigawa State High Court in Suit No:
JDU/022/2021, delivered by Musa Ubale, J. on the 30th day of June,
2021 and the judgment delivered thereon are accordingly set aside. The
consequential orders made by the said court in the judgment are also set aside.”
The
Court of Appeal, Kano Division went further to confirm in clear terms that
CHIEF VICTOR IKE OYE and those elected with him at the APGA National Convention
at Awka in 2019 were the validly elected National Officers/Executives of APGA having
gotten the judgment of the Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka in Suit No: A/92/2020 delivered on the
18/11/2020 wherein, the National Convention of APGA held on the 31/5/2019 which
elected him as National Chairman was validated. Commenting on the said judgment
of the High Court of Anambra State, the Court of Appeal further stated that:
“…There is no evidence
that such judgment has been set aside on appeal or by the court that delivered
it. Consequently, it is clear that, as at the time the suit leading to this
appeal was initiated in Jigawa State High Court, the 2nd Appellant [i.e. CHIEF VICTOR IKE OYE] was the validly elected Chairman of the 1st Appellant
(APGA)”.
This
Judgment of the Court of Appeal Kano was loudly affirmed by the Supreme Court
in its Judgment in Appeal No. SC/CV/686/2021 JUDE OKEKE v. ALL PROGRESSIVES
GRAND ALLIANCE & 3 ORS delivered on October 14, 2021,per Peter-Odili, JSC (rtd). If you recall,
the Court of Appeal judgment immediately saw to the removal of the name of one
Chukwuma Micheal Umeoji as the APGA Governorship candidate for Anambra State
2021 Governorship Election and the glorious return of the name of Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR as the APGA
Governorship candidate duly nominated by
Chief Victor Ike Oye led National leadership of APGA. Today by the grace of God
and the power of the will of the people of Anambra State Prof Charles Chukwuma
Soludo, CFR is the solution Governor of Anambra State and the National leader
of APGA by virtue of Article 10 of the APGA Constitution 2019.
We further express our unreserved appreciation to our National Leader, Prof
Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR for his
uncommon courage, unwavering trust and commitment to standing by the truth
notwithstanding the barrage of verbal attacks by these enemies of our great
party.
You
will also recall that in 2023,
by a Ruling of the Supreme Court delivered on March 24, 2023, the Supreme Court corrected the error in the
background facts of the fabricated story presented before the Jigawa State High
Court by the plaintiff ttherein and swapped the name of “Chief Victor Oye” with “Chief
Edozie Njoku” on page 13 of its earlier Judgment of October 14, 2021. The
Apex Court also corrected the Appeal Number to read SC/CV/687/2021 instead of “SC/CV/686/2021”.
However, the Supreme Court while granting the
application brought by Njoku for the correction of the accidental slip,
cleverly went ahead of Njoku`s mischief and warned emphatically at page 26 of
its Ruling of March 24, 2023 “that
the correction of the error, mistake or slip in the judgment does not in any
plausible way, review, vary or substitute the operative or substantive part of
the judgment” delivered on 14/10/2021 which affirmed the Judgment of
the Court of Appeal Kano.
Subsequently, Edozie Njoku in his manoeuvre and
desperation to become APGA National Chairman through the back door took the
Supreme Court Judgment and the ruling on the correction to the Federal High
Court before Hon. Justice Omotosho J. to be recognised as APGA National
Chairman and for INEC to accept one Chief Chekwas Okorie as his nominated APGA
Presidential Candidate alongside other purported Senatorial and House of
Representatives candidates. He equally filed similar suit before the Federal
High Court Awka before Hon. Justice H. Nganjiwa to be allowed to nominate States
House of assembly candidates for APGA all for the 2023 general election.
Both Hon. Justice Omotosho and Hon. Justice Nganjiwa
dismissed the suits and held that the authentic and validly recognised National
Chairman of APGA authorised by law to nominate candidates for APGA was Chief
Victor Ike Oye and that the Supreme Court’s correction of 24th
March, 2023 never declared Edozie Njoku as APGA National Chairman. The Judgment
of Hon. Justice Omotosho was also affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
As at today there are three (3) subsisting Judgments
of the Court of Appeal on APGA leadership validating the APGA National
Convention held in Awka Anambra State in 2019 that elected Chief Victor Ike Oye
as APGA National Chairman out of which one has been affirmed by the Supreme
Court on 14/10/2021.
It is important to note that there is no subsisting
judgment of Court anywhere that ever validated the purported Owerri Convention
claimed by Edozie Njoku. I therefore ask, can Edozie Njoku ever become National
Chairman without a valid National Convention? It is certainly a capital NO. The fact that the purported recognition of Edozie
Njoku is not a product of any valid Convention of APGA is clear from the INEC
portal where you see the name of Edozie Njoku and other officers showing “BY COURT ORDER”.
THE
OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE SUPREME COURT ON THE CORRECTION OF THE ACCIDENTAL SLIP
AS TO WHETHER INEC CHAIRMAN DISOBEYED THE SUPREME COURT IN NOT RECOGNISING
EDOZIE NJOKU AS APGA NATIONAL CHAIRMAN.
Just
recently, we received a Certified True Copy of a letter where the immediate past
Hon Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Olukayode Ariwola, GCON, on the 6th
of June, 2023 notified counsel to Chief Edozie Njoku that the Supreme Court in
its Ruling of 24/3/2023 did not recognize Chief Edozie Njoku as APGA National Chairman.
The said letter by the Supreme Court read as follows:
“I have been directed
by Hon.,the Chief Justice of Nigeria ,Hon.Justice OLUKAYODE ARIWOOLA ,GCON, to refer to your captioned
letter with Ref.No./APGA/J/INEC/1.1/23
dated 15th day of May,2023 and to respond to you as follows;
1.
That the ruling of the Court in suit
SC/CV/687/2021 dated 24th
March,2023 did not alter the substance of the judgment delivered on 14th
day of October,2021 affirming the Judgment of the Court of Appeal which set
aside the Judgment of the High Court of Jigawa and held that who should be the
Acting National Chairman of the party is within the confines of the internal
affairs of the party which is not justiciable.
2.
The
Court could not have made any consequential Order recognizing Chief Edozie
Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.
3.
Since
no Order to that effect was made by the Court the National Chairman of INEC did
not disobey any.
This is the position officially taken by the Supreme
Court in respect of the much talked about correction of 24/3/2023 by Edozie
Njoku and his minions. Sadly, it has become apparent that despite receiving
this all important nay crucial clarification from the Supreme Court, Edozie
Njoku and his lawyers fraudulently concealed this information when they
approached the innocent Judge of the FCT High court to procure another judgment
that runs contrary to the Supreme Court’s official position.
One is therefore at loss how a Judgment that the
Supreme Court affirmed in favour of Chief Victor Oye could have by any stretch
of imagination give rise to an enforceable right in favour of Edozie Njoku.
This
would only possibly pass as judicial abracadabra!!!.
As
stated earlier, Edozie Njoku and his proxies proceeded to the FCT High Court
before Hon. Justice Madugu against Chief Victor Oye and INEC with the same
Supreme Court Judgment and the ruling of 24/3/2023 correcting the accidental
slip and misled the court under the guise of enforcing the judgment of the
Supreme Court without joining APGA to the suit. The FCT High Court then
delivered a judgment against Chief Victor Oye on the 6th of
June,2023 at a time he had served out his 2nd tenure as APGA National Chairman for the
period running from 31st May,2019 to 31st May,2023 to the
effect that Victor Oye had no business being APGA National Chairman and then quickly
initiated, threatened and blackmailed the INEC Chairman with contempt
proceedings. .
We
agree Chief Victor Oye had no business being APGA National Chairman at the time
the judgment was delivered on 6th of June,2023 because he has since
served out his tenure. Interestingly, the FCT High Court never granted any of
the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs to the effect that the Supreme Court
declared Edozie Njoku National Chairman by the correction of the clerical slip
neither did the Court of Appeal declare Edozie Njoku National Chairman in the
two Court of Appeal Judgments delivered on 28th of June,2024 in:
1. APPEAL NO.
CA/ABJ/CV/724/2023 BETWEEN CHIEF VICTOR IKE OYE V.OTUNBA KAMARU LATEEF OGIDAN
& 2 ORS
2. APPEAL NO.
CA/ABJ/CV/1169/2023 BETWEEN CHIEF VICTOR IKE OYE V.OTUNBA KAMARU LATEEF OGIDAN
& 2 ORS that will warrant INEC to recognize
Chief Edozie Njoku as APGA National
Chairman.
INEC`S
DEFENCE TO JUSTIFY THE RECOGNITION OF CHIEF EDOZIE NJOKU.
It's rather disheartening on the part of an institution like
INEC, created under the Constitution, to claim that APGA conducted parallel
National Convention in 2019. We challenge INEC to come out and show Nigerians
the Notice issued by APGA that it will hold National Convention in Owerri as
required by Section 82 (1) of the Electoral Act or any monitoring report of
such National Convention. On the contrary, there is ample evidence that APGA
issued INEC Notice of its National Convention in Awka in 2019. In line with the
Notice issued by APGA, INEC duly attended and monitored the said National
Convention of APGA held in Awka. INEC equally produced a report to validate the
said National Convention.
INEC in its depositions,
as contained in the counter affidavit justifying the erroneous recognition of
Chief Edozie Njoku as APGA National Chairman, have not been able to present any
Statutory Notice of APGA issued to INEC scheduling APGA National Convention in
Owerri Imo State or any INEC REPORT indicating that the purported parallel
National Convention actually held in Owerri on May 31, 2019 or any other date. Or is INEC not aware that by S.82 (5)
of the Electoral Act failure to issue such notice to INEC renders such
purported Convention a nullity?
By INEC’s own showing in its counter affidavit,
particularly paragraph 4 h, it stated
that the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal and ordered
that status quo ante bellum before the suit in jigawa was filed be maintained. The question then is what was the status
quo before the suit that went to Jigawa was filed?
The Court of Appeal whose decision was affirmed by the
Supreme Court clearly answered this when it held at pages 78 – 80
of the Judgment in Appeal No.
CA/KN/146/2021 per TSAMMANI JCA (now JSC)
as follows:
“Meanwhile,
the 2nd Appellant (Chief Victor Ike Oye) had gotten the judgment of
the Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka in Suit No: A/92/2020 delivered on
the 18/11/2020 wherein, the National Convention of the 1st Appellant
held on the 31/5/2019 which elected the 2nd Appellant as National
Chairman was validated…
There
is no evidence that such judgment has been set aside on appeal or by the court
that delivered it. Consequently, it is clear that, as at the time the suit
leading to this appeal was initiated in Jigawa State High Court, the 2nd
Appellant [i.e. CHIEF
VICTOR IKE OYE] was the validly
elected Chairman of the 1st Appellant (APGA)”.
Again, another panel of the Court Appeal presided over
by the current President of the Court of Apppeal, Hon Justice Monica Dongban
Mensem, CFR in Appeal No. CA/AW/256/2021 delivered yet another
landmark judgment on APGA Leadership on 9th September, 2021. In a
lead judgment delivered by Hon Justice Hannatu Jumai Sankey, JCA (now JSC), the
Court of Appeal held at pages 48-49 of its judgment that;
“This Court is
bound by the decision of the Court in the Appeal under reference, i.e. Appeal
No. CA/KN/146/2021 per Tsammani, JCA, which is in respect of the issue also in
contention in this Appeal, which essentially is: which of the two Conventions
held by different factions of APGA is valid; and who is the National Chairman
of APGA recognised by Law.”
Incidentally, Edozie Njoku was the appellant in the above
appeal. Needless to state that he neither challenged the above decision on
appeal to the Supreme Court nor did he apply to the Court of Appeal to review
the said judgment. Consequently, the Court of Appeal judgment in Appeal No. CA/AW/256/2021 nailed the coffin in the contention on the purported
Owerri Convention. It is therefore illogical and akin to a futile attempt to
resurrect the dead for INEC to turn around in 2024 to claim that the status quo
was recognition of the alleged Owerri Convention when the Court of Appeal has
clearly laid the matter to rest.
Again, if according to INEC said Counter affidavit
that the Supreme Court returned parties to status quo which was the recognition
of the alleged Owerri Convention, then why did INEC implement the Supreme Court
Judgment in favour of Chief Victor Oye led APGA leadership in the 2021 Anambra
State Governorship Election and in the nomination of APGA candidates for the
2023 general election?
Most
bizarre of the position taken by INEC is the sheer effrontery by INEC to allude
to the purported Owerri Convention as the basis for its recognition of Njoku
after 5 years. By the combined effect of Section 223(2)(a) of the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Article 19(3) of APGA
Constitution, officers of the party are elected for a maximum term of 4 years.
If so, what term of office was INEC enforcing in 2024 (5 years after the
alleged/purported Owerri Convention)?
In driving home this
point, Hon. Justice Peter Chudi Obiorah in
the Court of Appeal Judgment of 28th June, 2024 clearly stated as
follows in his concurring judgment;
Whichever
way one looks at it, taking a cue from the facts of the Supreme Court Judgment which was predicated
on alleged election conducted at Owerri , Imo State on 31st May,2019
and the undisputed tenure of four years for elected officers of the party, it
is not in doubt that whatever office any person lays claim by virtue of the
election of 31st May,2019 has elapsed.”
Assuming
but without conceding that the Court of Appeal declared Edozie Njoku as
National Chairman the tenure in question has since elapsed constitutionally.
Again,
in 2020 Edozie Njoku filed a suit praying for an Order of Mandamus to compel
INEC to recognize him as APGA National Chairman. The suit was dismissed by the
Federal High Court in 2022 and INEC was a party to the suit. How can INEC,
knowing fully well that the Federal High Court denied Edozie Njoku's
application for Mandamus, come back in 2024 to claim that the Supreme Court
returned APGA back to the Owerri Convention? Just how conceivable can that ever
be?
Indeed,
so many questions are begging for answers from INEC!!! Is it conceivable that
the Supreme Court could validate a National Convention that it had earlier
declared as non-existent? or for the Supreme Court to validate two parallel
Conventions of a political Party? This would possibly pass as the 10th wonder
of the world!!!
The Supreme Court have come out categorically in its
letter dated 6th of June,2024 that it never declared Edozie Njoku as
APGA National Chairman by its corrected ruling of 24th March,2023
and that the National Chairman of INEC did not disobey the Supreme Court
Judgment. Thus, on the strength of the Judgment of the Court of Appeal Kano
affirmed by the Supreme Court and two other judgments of the Court of Appeal
Abuja Division, one of which was presided by the President of the Court of
Appeal, INEC had dealt with Chief Victor Ike Oye as the authentic National
Chairman of APGA until he successfully served out his 2nd tenure on
31st May,2023 which ushered the new National leadership of APGA ably
led by Barr Sly Ezeokenwa after INEC was served with the Notices required by
S.82(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 .
The National Convention of APGA held on
May 31, 2023 was duly monitored by officials of INEC, led by a National
Commissioner, Barr. Festus Okoye and a Certified True Copy of the Monitoring
report of the convention was issued by INEC authenticating that Barr Sly
Ezeokenwa and other members of his led executive were duly elected at a
properly convened National Convention of APGA. This National Convention of APGA
that elected me as National Chairman has not been invalidated by any court of
law to warrant my name being removed by INEC. It is an error that most not be
allowed to thrive in our political journey in this country.
The simple poser to INEC remains:
Provide to Nigerians the Judgment
or Order that mandated you to recognize Edozie Njoku as APGA National Chairman
and under which tenure you are recognizing Edozie Njoku!
I, however understand
the predicament INEC has found itself and the struggle at all cost to defend
the indefensible recognition of a total stranger and a meddlesome interloper in
the affairs of APGA. But there is absolutely no justification for the position
taken by INEC and the ideal path of honour for INEC to tow is to reverse the
wrongful and erroneous recognition.
Once again, we call on the Chairman of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) at this point to be courageous
and resilient to stand by the truth which he knows on the leadership
tussle in APGA and ultimately correct the unpopular recognition of Edozie
Njoku whose alleged Owerri Convention had long been declared invalid by a court
of competent jurisdiction.
Furthermore, we urge the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC)
and the respective States Independent Electoral Commission across the 36 States
and FCT, not to succumb to the antics and cheap blackmail of Edozie Njoku
to recognize strangers as APGA Acting States Executives or representatives. The
officers of APGA elected across the various wards, Local Governments and States
are still validly in office and cannot be replaced on the whims and caprices of
one stranger falsely laying claim to APGA Leadership.
We call on the States
Independent Electoral Commissions across the 36 States and FCT and the
leadership of IPAC to appraise the various Court Judgments on APGA leadership
to take an informed decision on any issue concerning APGA and to also know that
there is no Court anywhere in Nigeria that ever declared Chief Edozie Njoku as
National Chairman of APGA to warrant his recognition by INEC.APGA therefore
state its preparedness to participate in the forthcoming local Government elections
across the country. We call on all our members to participate in the said
elections.
Finally, we firmly believe
that the Supreme Court will speak further to clarify if there was anything in
its ruling of 24th March, 2023 to be enforced in other to put to
rest the misinterpretation arising from the correction of the accidental slip
in its Judgment now that the misinterpretation of its judgment has found its
way back to the Supreme Court challenging the Judgment of the Court of Appeal
delivered on 28th June, 2024.
We therefore call on
all our aggrieved members, supporters and Nigerians to remain calm knowing
fully well that this is yet another storm in teacup.
I thank you all for
listening
