*Party elders insist Edozie Njoku is authentic nat’l chair
*We’re not interfering in APGA, not in contempt of any court order, the commission insists
Controversy is again dogging the nomination of candidates by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for several upcoming elections in the country following the refusal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to obey the judgement of the Supreme Court affirming Chief Edozie Njoku as the duly-elected national chairman of the party.
INEC’s refusal to obey an order of the Supreme Court recognizing Njoku and it’s curious recognition of Chief Victor Oye may affect the political fortunes of the party since candidates nominated by Oye risk being invalidated by the courts.
But INEC through the Chief Press Secretary to the Chsirman of the Commission, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, denies the claims, stressing that the commission does not meddle in the internal affairs of any political party and is not in contempt of any court order regarding APGA.
However, The AUTHORITY gathered that at least two powerful politicians from Imo State are piling pressure on the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, from Bauchi state, to keep “playing games” with the Supreme Court judgement until Njoku tires out.
According to Electoral Act, 2022, a person cannot stand for elections except he or she has been nominated by a political party.
The national chairman and national secretary of a political party are the only two persons recognized by law to submit the names of candidates to stand at an election.
INEC had in late December 2023 announced that it would conduct nine bye-elections and 35 re-run elections across the country in February 3, 2024.
The electoral umpire also announced that the Edo State governorship election would hold on 21 September 2024, while that of Ondo State holds on Saturday 16 November 2024.
While the bye-elections resulted from the resignations or deaths of elected lawmakers and subsequent vacancies created by such, re-run elections in 35 constituencies resulted from the verdicts of the various election petition tribunals.
The Supreme Court had twice last year affirmed Edozie Njoku as APGA national chairman. Following INEC’s refusal to obey the judgement, Edozie filed contempt proceedings at High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) against INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakoob and Chief Victor Oye.
The INEC chairman was alleged to have refused to recognise Chief Njoku as the rightful national chairman of APGA and went ahead to publish names of governorship candidates which did not emanate from Njoku for APGA for the November 11, 2023 elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa.
It said the INEC boss continued to recognise Oye as the national chairman of APGA as against the court order.
The motion said Oye, also held a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party in disobedience to the court injunction which barred him from calling any meeting or hold any campaign or convention in the name of the party.
Justice M. A. Madugu of the FCT High Court convicted Prof. Yakoob for contempt, but failed to sentence, apparently to give the INEC chairman room to recognize Njoku.
Oyekanmi discountenanced all the allegations against Prof. Yakubu and the commission, saying “there are no facts to substantiate such suprious allegations”.
