Sly Ezeokenwa, the factional national chairman of the All-Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has issued a strong challenge to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over its recent recognition of Edozie Njoku as the party’s national chairman.

In an interview with ARISE NEWS on Wednesday, Ezeokenwa emphasised that the Supreme Court had never declared Njoku as the legitimate chairman of APGA.

“The supreme court never declared Edozie Njoku as the national chairman of APGA. It has been proven beyond doubt that INEC has committed an error and I understand why INEC took the position they took because INEC was blackmailed. We are going to approach INEC again and the honorable thing to do as a responsible commission created by the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria is to reverse the error.”

According to Ezeokenwa, the recent actions by INEC, including their filing of a counter affidavit in response to a suit he brought, were based on incorrect assumptions and judicial errors.

Ezeokenwa referred to a Supreme Court ruling on March 24, 2023, which, he argued, returned APGA to its pre-existing status.

He claimed that INEC’s recent decision to recognise Njoku was influenced by an alleged 2019 convention held in Owerri, which Ezeokenwa argues is legally questionable.

The counter affidavit filed by INEC, Ezeokenwa noted, admitted that they only monitored the Akwa convention and ignored previous judicial rulings regarding the Owerri convention.

“Just recently, INEC has now come out in a counter affidavit they filed in a suit that I instituted to challenge that erroneous recognition and what they claimed was that following the supreme court correction of its judgement on the 24th day of march 2023, that the supreme court returned APGA to status quo and they now brought back the issue of an Owerri convention that was allegedly held somewhere in 2019, claiming that it was the basis of their recognition.”

Ezeokenwa questioned the legitimacy of INEC’s recognition of Njoku, pointing out that there has been no court order compelling INEC to do so.

“So now, two or three issues arise from INEC’s position. First of all, is the legal status of the purported Owerri convention. Second one is the implication of the correction of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the 24th of march 2023 and the third is if there is any extant order of any court that has compelled INEC to recognize Njoku as party chairman”

According to Ezeokenwa, INEC’s decision, made on July 9, 2024, was accompanied by a caveat indicating a court order, but no such order has been provided or publicly disclosed. He asserted that INEC’s failure to produce a legitimate court order raises significant concerns about the legality of their recognition of Njoku.

Since assuming office as APGA’s national chairman on May 31, 2023, Ezeokenwa has overseen several significant party activities, including nominations for the Edo and Ondo governorship elections and various by-elections. Despite these activities and consistent recognition of his leadership by INEC until July 2024, Ezeokenwa argues that INEC’s recent change in recognition was an error that must be corrected.

“From the time I assumed office on the 31st of May, I have always been recognised by INEC as the national chairman of APGA. The current executive under my leadership, we nominated the candidate for the Edo governorship election and the Ondo governorship election. Recall that earlier this year, there were by-elections and we nominated candidates.”

Ezeokenwa has urged INEC to rectify what he describes as a misjudgment and to restore the correct party leadership status. He believes that INEC’s actions were not only erroneous but also undermined the integrity of the party’s internal processes. (Arise News)

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