The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) has announced that it is set to conduct its primary elections in preparation for the local government elections in some states in northern Nigeria.
The concerned states includes Bauchi, Benue, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi and Kogi, in line with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and the Relevant State’s Independent Electoral Commission guidelines.
The announcement was contained in a statement issued by APGA at the end of a just concluded meeting held by the National Working Committee of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) of Northern Nigeria under the leadership of Chief Edozie Njoku in Bauchi, Bauchi State, on July 28, 2024.
Chief Edozie Njoku was duly represented by the Deputy National Chairman (DNC) North, in person of Adamu Danjuma Musa; National Legal Adviser (NLA) Barrister Hamman Buba Ghide; and Vice Chairman (VC) North Central Leonard Auta, in company of some other Northern States’ Chairmen from Bauchi, Gombe, and Plateau States.
The communiqué was read to journalists by the Deputy National Chairman (North) of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Adamu Danjuma Musa.
The APGA National Executive Committee (NEC) has issued guidelines for the conduct of the party’s primaries for the local government elections in various Northern States as scheduled to be held on their respective dates in conformity with the State Independent Electoral Commission Guidelines on the conduct of party primaries.
Furthermore, in compliance with the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and the various State’s Independent Electoral Commission guidelines, the timetable and schedule of activities for the conduct of the 2024 local government primary elections in the state are available on the SIEC website, as well as in the APGA’s national and state offices.
The APGA primaries guidelines and further information are available on the party’s website, or you can contact the relevant National Working Committee or National Executive Committee officials, noting that the primaries, as stated above, will be conducted on the basis of one member, one vote (OMOV); one delegate, one vote. No super members or delegates.
All party members are entitled to vote, and our nomination forms are affordable. Voting will be innovative and convenient, either physically, online, or via SMS, assuring that it will be secured, monitored by candidates and INEC, and kept secret as required by law.
The guidelines for the primaries are open and accessible for transparency, while the members’ list and voter list for each constituency or elective position will be available to all aspirants without discrimination.
The Party stated that it is committed to expanding the democratic space by providing a level playing field for all aspirants on its platform and encouraging anyone who aspires to contest in free and fair primaries to join the Party.
Likewise, persons interested in voting for a candidate of their choice in the party primaries should do so without fear or favour because the party preaches transparent political leadership and followership that frowns at money politics, bribery, violence,’ short-termism’, repression, and corruption.
APGA stressed that it is pertinent to bring to the attention of the public that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finally and formally recognised Chief Edozie Njoku as the authentic national chairman of the party.
INEC’s recognition of Chief Njoku has put to rest the protracted legal tussle over who is the rightful national chairman of the party.
A terse statement made available on Sunday by the Deputy National Chairman of APGA, Adamu Danjuma Musa, stated: ‘The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has just confirmed and affirmed Chief Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA”.
However, INEC has confirmed the development on its website, as the name of Chief Edozie Njoku has been conspicuously imprinted on the commission’s website, along withthe names of his members of the National Working Committee.
Recall that the leadership crisis in APGA exposed INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as being partisan and non-adherent to the rule of law following his refusal to recognise Njoku as the national chairman of APGA.
On November 7, 2022, Justice Mary Peter Odilli (rtd) wrote a letter to Chief Edozie Njoku, titled “Chief Edozie Njoku, National Chairman, All Progressives Grand Alliance…Sir, Re: Request For Clarification Letter As Regards To The 9th of May, 2022, Correction Of Name By Your Lordship On The Supreme Court Appeal No. SC/CV/687/2021”.
In that letter, Justice Odilli (rtd) recalled a letter dated 6th May, 2022, addressed to her as the Presiding Justice of the Panel and the other four Justices, which requested for correction of the 14th October, 2021, Supreme Court Judgement, wherein the name of Chief Victor Oye was erroneously inserted instead of the name of Chief Edozie Njoku, It’s on record that Justice Odilli (rtd) corrected that mistake by replacing Chief Victor Oye’s name with that of Chief Edozie Njoku on Paragraph 1 of page 13 of the 14th October, 2021 Judgement.
“The correction was made having cognizance that on the day of delivery of the judgement, October 14, 2021, by a slip of the pen and tongue, the name of Chief Victor Oye was brought in. This error was pointed out to me by other members of the panel, who reminded me that Chief Victor Oye was not a party to the Appeal or the proceedings which emanated from the Jigawa High court.
However, in the course of the trajectory of errors, the name of Chief Victor Oye kept recurring in the record of the judgement instead of the right party to the proceeding, Chief Edozie Njoku,” Justice Odilli stated.
The retired Justice noted that parties in the appeal and judgement of October 14, 2021, were: Chief Jude Okeke (Appellant), while APGA, Chief Edozie Njoku (National Chairman, APGA) for himself and on behalf of the members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of APGA elected on May 31, 2019, Alhaji Rabiu Aliyu, and INEC were respondents.
Following the correction, the jurist expressed hope that the situation would have been “clarified and the matter put to rest.”.
On January 19, 2023, the Supreme Court, through its Chief Registrar, acknowledged and replied a letter by Chief Njoku dated October 7, 2022. In the apex court’s reply titled: “Chief Edozie Njoku, Request for authentication and confirmation of the supreme court judgement in suit no. SC/CV/687/2021, between Chief Jude Okeke and All Progressives Grand Alliance and others, the Chief Registrar advised Njoku to approach the Supreme Court by way of a motion to correct the accidental slip in the judgement delivered on May 9, 2022, by the then Justice Mary Peter Odili (rtd) in suit marked SC/CV/687/21.
Taking a hint from the apex court’s letter, Chief Njoku filed an application wherein he sought the regularisation of the amended judgement of Justice Mary Peter Odili (rtd). On March 24, 2023, the accidental slip, which was eventually corrected by the Supreme Court, restored Chief Njoku as the actual National Chairman of APGA, having been wrongfully removed by a Jigawa High Court in suit no.
JDU/022/2021 between Alhaji Garba Aliyu and Chief Jude Okeke& 2 Ors.
In a lead judgement, Justice Garba Lawal held that it was Chief Njoku who was wrongly removed by the Jigawa High Court without being joined as a party. “It is therefore crystal clear that the dispute which gave rise to Appeal Nos. SC/CV/687/2021 and SC/CV/686/2021 was who should be the Acting National
Chairman of the 1st Respondent (APGA) and whether the National Chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku, was validly replaced.
The suit had absolutely nothing to do with Chief Victor Oye,” the jurist held. As such, the Supreme Court unanimously held that Njoku’s application was meritorious and graciously granted the same as prayed.
Like Justice Lawal stated, it is instructive to note that the suit filed at the Jigawa High Court emanated from the May 31, 2019, APGA Convention held in Owerri.
“Funny enough, Chief Victor Oye, who laid claim to the National Chairmanship of APGA, did not even participate in that Owerri Convention, having held a parallel exercise at Awka, Anambra State,” it stated.
Flowing from the apex court judgement, two national officers of APGA, Otumba Camaru Ogidan and Alhaji Rabiu Mustapha, approached a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Bwari, to enforce the judgement due to INEC’s failure to recognise Chief Njoku.
Aside from a restraining interim order, the trial judge, Mohammed Madugu, in a judgement on June 6, 2023, ordered INEC and Chief Victor Oye to obey the order of the apex court, recognising Chief Njoku as APGA National Chairman.
“The act(s) of the respondents refusing to obey and comply with the subsisting judgements of the Supreme Court made on October 14, 2021, corrected on March 24, 2023, and duly served on them amounts to disobedience of the judgements and orders of the Supreme Court.
“The actions of the 1st Respondent (Oye) posing and parading himself and occupying the Party’s secretariat as the National Chairman of APGA contrary to the judgment and order of the Supreme Court made on 14th October, 2021 and corrected on the 24th March, 2023, is in disobedience and in clear violation of the judgments of the Supreme Court”.
“An order of injunction is hereby granted restraining the 2nd Respondent (INEC), whether by itself, agents, privies, assigns, authorised representatives, or whosoever described, from accepting, recognising, and dealing with the 1st Respondent.
“It is well-established in legal jurisprudence that court orders must be obeyed and respected.
“Parties to litigation are duty-bound to adhere to the directives of the Court.
Disobedience of court orders undermines the sanctity of the judiciary and the rule of law. The 1st and 2nd Respondents have committed contempt by disobeying the subsisting order of this court made on May 10, 2023, and I so hold,” Justice Madugu said.
However, INEC’s refusal to obey the enforcement order of the FCT High Court in suit marked FCT/HC/CV/4068/2023 prompted another round of litigation as the Njoku-led group filed contempt proceedings against Prof Mahmood Yakubu and Chief Victor Oye.
In a judgement on November 9, 2023, Justice Madugu held that Prof. Yakubu and Oye were in contempt of Court as a result of their refusal to obey valid court orders.
However, Oye and INEC appealed, but on June 28, a 3-man panel of the appellate court led by Justice Uchechikwu Onyemenam dismissed the two appeals and entered judgement in favour of the respondents, a development that made INEC formally recognise Chief Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.
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