By Emma Okereh
The Sly Ezeokenwa led faction of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), that is being backed by Governor Chukwuma Soludo has suffered a major set back as the Court of appeal on Thursday rejected its appeal for stay of execution in implementing the appellate court ruling that recognized and asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognize Edozie Njoku as the authentic national chairman of the party
This is even as the APGA National Chairman, Edozie Njoku, has ahead of the September local government area elections in the state, warned Governor Soludo and his group to give peace a chance in the party, saying his patience is running out.
Chief Njoku who gave the warning while addressing the press in Abuja on Thursday after the appeal court ruling, said there is still room only if the Governor makes himself available for that.
Recall that some APGA stakeholders have asked the national chairman to suspend the embattled Anambra state governor from the party.
The Ezeokenwa faction of APGA returned to the Appeal Court court seeking the stay of execution to the court judgement that ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to recognise Chief Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA .
The faction filed three separate appeals, praying to stay the execution of Court of Appeal Judgement of June 28, 2024 and motion seeking to join Sylvester Ezeokenwa as a party in the suit.
However, their appeals in suits no CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/723MI/2024,
CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/728MI/2024 and CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/870MI/2024 was thrown out on Thursday by the appeal court which insisted that Njoku remains the authentic National Chairman of the Chairman.
Addressing the press, Njoku warned Soludo and his co-travellers that time is no longer on their side, insisting that it is now or never for them to embrace peace.
“A narrative was created that there are some fresh facts and the Court of Appeal is going to throw me out. They played on that narrative so strongly that if anything had happened, they would have said, Ah, that there was something I did wrong. They went to channels. They went to arise, they went to AIT,” he said.
“They went to all the stations to create a narrative that there was something wrong in the clear judgment that was passed by the Court of Appeal, a clear judgment, they started pushing for my being recognized by INEC to be stayed by the court, and also for them to be given leave to go to the Supreme Court.
“Anyone can go to the Supreme Court, if they are not happy with the judgment, go to Supreme Court, but because you’ve lost at the lower court and at the Court of Appeal, then you should really go for a subset of a leave which is their own fundamental right.
“But them, coming to say they want to stay the judgment that the Court of Appeal gave because I did something fraudulent that there were some facts I did not disclose…was highly, highly fraudulent.
“They are not saying anything. We’ve gone to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has been clear. The lower court, which has the right to enforce, has enforced. It has moved up to the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal has affirmed the enforcement of the lower courts, and they are still going around, causing tension everywhere, trying to send our party backwards.
“The governor is putting so much energy for my recognition in INEC to be removed, but my removal from INEC is not possible because it’s based on the law.
“It’s based on facts. It’s based on the fact that I won the convention in Owerri. So before you are able to remove me from INEC, you must disprove the fact that I was a chairman elected in the Owerri convention.
“They did so much to remove me but through the grace of God, and knowing that the fact is, on our side, it is impossible for them to remove me as National Chairman.”
