APGA Faults INEC’s Position over Party’s Leadership Tussle

Agnes Ekebuike

Newslens NG reports that The factional National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sly Ezeokenwa, has openly criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for what he described as a grave error in its recognition of Chief Edozie Njokwu as the party’s National Chairman. Ezeokenwa voiced his concerns yesterday.

According to Ezeokenwa, on July 9, 2024, INEC erroneously recognised a “total stranger” as the National Chairman of APGA without any prior communication with the legitimate leadership of the party. Ezeokenwa, who assumed office as the National Chairman following the party’s national convention on May 31, 2023, emphasised that his leadership has been recognised by INEC since his election.

He noted that under his leadership, the current executive of APGA successfully nominated candidates for the Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections, as well as for several by-elections held earlier in the year.

This recognition, he argued, underscores the legitimacy of his leadership, which remained uncontested until INEC’s sudden and unexplained reversal.

The essence of Ezeokenwa’s grievance lies in INEC’s justification for its recognition of Njokwu. He pointed out that while INEC included a caveat on its website indicating that Njokwu’s name was listed “by court order,” the electoral body has failed to provide any such order to date. “Now the question is: furnish us with a court order that compelled you to recognise Edozie Njokwu as National Chairman of APGA. To date, INEC has not been able to furnish anybody with the order,” Ezeokenwa challenged, casting doubt on the legitimacy of INEC’s decision.

Ezeokenwa further revealed that the party had earlier communicated with INEC, detailing the leadership crisis within APGA from 2019 to the present. The party urged INEC to reverse its recognition of Njokwu in the interest of justice, arguing that the decision was “done in error.”

In response to a legal challenge against this recognition, INEC filed a counter-affidavit, citing a Supreme Court ruling from March 23, 2023, which it claimed returned APGA to the status quo. This, INEC argued, justified its recognition of Njokwu, based on an alleged Owerri convention held in 2019. However, Ezeokenwa contested this interpretation, questioning both the legality of the Owerri convention and the implications of the Supreme Court’s correction.

Ezeokenwa further pointed out that INEC, in its counter-affidavit, admitted to having monitored only one convention—the one held in Awka, which he insists was the legitimate gathering where the party’s leadership was duly elected.

He criticised INEC for not disclosing that the Owerri convention had been invalidated by three separate judgments of the Court of Appeal. The first of these was a judgment by the Court of Appeal in the Kano Division, delivered on August 10, 2021, which unequivocally recognised Chief Dr. Victor Ikeoye as the National Chairman of APGA at that time.

Ezeokenwa emphasised that the ongoing leadership tussle between Njokwu and Ikeoye had no bearing on his tenure as National Chairman, reiterating that his leadership was legitimate and recognised until INEC’s controversial decision.