APGA Has Only One National Chairman, Sly Ezeokenwa

For those exuding ignorance of the said Appeal Court judgments, these are the takeaways.

1. The purported convention on March 31, 2019, in Owerri, not monitored by INEC, by opportunists when the party was having its legitimate convention in Awka with a well-constituted National Executive Committee, which produced Victor Oye as the National Chairman for a second term.
2. That one Jude Okeke, in judgment shopping, went to Birnin Kudu, Jigawa State seeking to be pronounced National Chairman of the party and validate his purported suspension of Edozie Njoku as APGA National Chairman without joining APGA or its legitimate National Chairman, Victor Oye, as respondents in the said suit. Can anything stand on nothing
3. Upon learning of the judgment in Birnin Kudu, Jigawa State that pronounced Jude Okeke as APGA National Chairman, the legitimate APGA National Chairman Victor Oye duly appealed the judgment at the Kano division of the Appeal Court after seeking leave of the court to be joined as a party. The Appeal Court thus set aside the decision of the Jigawa court on the ground of jurisdiction, stating that the matter is outside the court’s territorial jurisdiction and the subject matter is not justiceable since it involves the issue of leadership of the party which is entirely the internal affairs of a political party. How can you enforce what the Appeal Court says it’s entirely the internal affairs of a political party?
4. The High Court in Awka and Federal High Court in Abuja had within the same period pronounced Victor Oye as the National Chairman of APGA which was also upheld by Appeal Court, Abuja.

5 Jude Oke approached the Supreme Court on the grounds that the Appeal Court had set aside the judgment of Birnin Kudu, Jigawa that pronounced him National Chairman. After his nonexistent APGA executive committee purportedly suspended his co-traveler Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman without joining Edozie Njoku or APGA in the appeal filed before the Supreme Court.

6. The Supreme Court, while delivering judgment, made an attempt to recall the brief statement of background facts of Jude Okeke. In this attempt, there was an erroneous slip in Jude Okeke’s account where he referred to Edozie Njoku as the sacked National Chairman. The Supreme Court affirmed that Victor Oye cannot be sacked since the matter is not justiciable. The court later corrected Jude Okeke’s brief statement of background facts as stated by Jude Okeke to reference Edozie Njoku as “the person allegedly suspended” on page 13 of its judgment. This correction came after Edozie Njoku sought the court’s permission to challenge the accidental slip in reference. The court edited the reference to Edozie Njoku and maintained that it never proclaimed Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA. The Supreme Court clarified that it was simply recalling what Jude Oke stated in his brief statement of background facts. Whoever Jude Oke claimed had been suspended, the court cannot determine since the subject matter is not justiciable.
7. The issue at hand now is the Supreme Court judgment which upheld the judgment of the Kano division of the Appeal Court in setting aside the Jigawa State High Court that earlier pronounced Jude Oke as APGA National Chairman. The grounds were that the matter is not justiciable and the Supreme Court never pronounced Edozie Njoku as the APGA National Chairman, nor did the Appeal Court Kano division do so. The Court of Appeal in Kano specifically held that before the matter that was filed in Jigawa, Chief Victor Ike Oye is the authentic National Chairman of APGA whose election was validated by the judgment of the Anambra State High Court. The judgment of the Anambra State High Court validating Oye has not been set aside by any court. The Supreme Court in its judgment of 10/14/2021 affirmed this decision of the Court of Appeal in Kano in dismissing the appeal of Jude Oke. In the corrected ruling of 3/24/2023, the Supreme Court specifically stated that the correction of the slip at page 13 of its judgment didn’t alter or vary the substance of its earlier judgment of 10/14/2021. In essence, the judgment of the Supreme Court earlier delivered is the substantive judgment of the Supreme Court.
8. Edozie Njoku went to the FCT High Court to enforce the Supreme Court judgment, which never pronounced him the National Chairman. A suit that the Supreme Court dismissed. How can Edozie Njoku enforced what Supreme Court says it’s an entirely internal affairs of APGA?
9. The FCT High Court erroneously misinterpreted the Supreme Court judgment and the corrected ruling of March 24, 2023. The FCT High Court still did not pronounce Edozie Njoku as the APGA National Chairman. The FCT High Court alone said the Supreme Court judgment restored parties to the status quo. And as the parties know, what the status quo was. Going by this pronouncement of the FCT High Court, the status quo was the state of APGA leadership structure before the suit that was dismissed by the Supreme Court went to the Jigawa State High Court in Birnin Kudu. Chief Victor Ike Oye was the authentic National Chairman of APGA as pronounced by the Court of Appeal in Kano and affirmed by the Supreme Court.
10. The Appeal Court Abuja Division on 28th June 2024 upheld the decision of the FCT High Court and still didn’t pronounce Edozie Njoku the National Chairman of APGA when Victor Oye approached it to challenge the decision of the FCT High Court on misinterpreting the Supreme Court judgment. Victor Oye’s tenure effectively came to an end on 31st May,2023. At no point was Barr. Sly Ezeokenwa, the new APGA National Chairman or APGA as a political party joined in any of the suits.

INEC recognizing Edozie Njoku as APGA National Chairman on the interim was because of the threat to commit its chairman to prison as instituted by Edozie Njoku through his proxies.

The Supreme Court, whose own judgment is sought to be interpreted, will definitely state that its judgment was basically on setting aside the Jigawa State High Court Judgment  on grounds of jurisdiction and didn’t go further to order Edozie Njoku recognition as APGA National Chairman.

Meanwhile, Edozie Njoku, who claimed to have taken a purported oath of office on July 7th, 2019, after his kangaroo convention on May 31st, 2019, in Owerri, assuming his claims without conceding, has elongated his purported tenure, thereby usurping the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This madness must be stopped, as no National Chairman of any party stays in office for a single term beyond 4 years.

Dr. Tony Olisa Mbeki Ogbonna

Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)