APGA chair seeks Tinubu’s intervention in INEC’s alleged disregard to court orders
By Taiye Agbaje
Chief Edozie Njoku, National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to prevail on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to obey court orders affirming him as national chairman.
Chief Njoku also urged the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to intervene in the matter.
He made the call while addressing newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.
He wondered why an agency of government would vehemently flout valid court orders and choose the ones it would obey.
“It’s not just that INEC is not obeying a Supreme Court judgment delivered on March 24, 2023; INEC has also disobeyed an injunction and an order of a High Court of the FCT, Bwari, to recognise me as the National Chairman of APGA.
“Instead of INEC to obey the enforcement judgement of the High Court or appeal same, they rushed and got a stay on a committal charge, which had given them 14-day grace period to purge themselves of contempt.
“The court has come out to say that INEC Chairman is in contempt of court and Victor Oye who submitted the names and held a congress and convention is also in contempt.
“But that’s not our problem.
“We are calling on Nigerians, we are calling on President Bola Tinubu and also calling on the AGF to look into the issue.
“Where it is that a parastatal can get a stay from the Court of Appeal, on a committal judgement that already had been given?
“Prof Mahmood Yakubu and Oye are relying on the stay to flout and disobey a direct order of the court,” he said.
Njoku, therefore, called on well-meaning Nigerians to appeal to the INEC chairman to obey a valid order of the court.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Supreme Court had, on March 24, 2023, in a suit marked SC/687/21, affirmed Njoku, as the Chairman of APGA.
Meanwhile, Njoku had expressed the readiness of the party for the forthcoming Edo and Ondo governorship elections.
He disclosed that party’s primaries for the governorship elections in the two states are expected to commence next week and last for about one month, adding that the party’s timetable would soon be out.
Njoku told the people of the states that “APGA is a party that has a lot to offer them, irrespective of any setbacks that we may have been passing through.
“I want to assure all that governorship aspirants from Edo and Ondo that have been calling to express their willingness to contest on our party platform that they should be rest assured that a free, fair and transparent primary which has remained elusive to others will be made the cardinal virtue and practice in APGA.”(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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