…….asks commission to adhere court’s ruling
Chekwas Okorie, the presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) for the forthcoming 2023 general election in Nigeria, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Chief Edozie Njoku as the authentic national chairman of APGA.
This comes on the backgrounds of the judgement of a panel of the supreme Court of Nigeria which sacked Ozonkpu Victor Oye, and affirmed Edozie Njoku as substantive APGA national chairman in the country.
Recall that a panel of the supreme court justices, chaired by Hon. Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, who was appointed to replace ex-chairman of the panel, Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili following her retirement, had ruled as lawful and legitimate, the convention of the All Progressive Grand Alliance held at Owerri, Imo State, which elected Chief Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman and other members of the National Working Committee of the Party.
However, Chief Okorie, who was the founder and pioneer national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, while reiterating his position, in a statement on Saturday, and forwarded to AFRIPOST, frowned at the prevarication of the INEC and other relevant authorities in recognizing Njoku as the party national chairman despite receiving a certified true copy of judgment of the apex court in the land.
He also expressed worrisome why the electoral Commission has preferred to continue dealing with the factional leadership of APGA, which he maintained, clearly lacked legal backing or legitimacy to enter into any form of transaction with the INEC on behalf of the party, regretting also, that the implications of the commission’s illegal activities is capable of causing APGA being excluded from participation in the forthcoming 2023 general election together with its candidates who have emerged through congresses and subsequent primaries in which appropriate notifications were given to INEC and such notifications duly acknowledged by the commission.
Okorie warned, “the exclusion of APGA from participating in the 2023 general election shall result in the cancellation and nullification of the entire general election according to the clear provisions of the electoral act and the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
“The entire amount of about N350 billion appropriated by the national Assembly for the conduct of the 2023 general election will go down the drain”.
He continued, “It stands to reason that the 29th May, 2023 date for the inauguration of a new government in Nigeria may not be realized since the nation has to source fresh funds and produce new timetable to conduct a fresh general election”.
The southeast party stalwart further noted that all these ominous possibilities are avoidable if the Independent National Electoral Commission can do the needful without further delay.
Okorie, however, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Mallami, leadership of the National Assembly, civil society and pro-democracy orgainsations and well-meaning Nigerians to intervene in the matter before irreparable damage is done to the nation’s democratic process.
