‘Apex Court enrolment order backs Njoku as APGA Chairman’
17 July 2022 |
2:41 am
The founding National Chairman and Presidential Candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Chekwas Okorie, has said that the Supreme Court’s enrolment order currently served
FILE PHOTO: The judge’s gavel is seen in court room PHOTO: REUTERS/Chip East/File Photo<br />
Okorie Urges Buhari, NASS’s Intervention
The founding National Chairman and Presidential Candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Chekwas Okorie, has said that the Supreme Court’s enrolment order currently served on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared the way for Chief Edozie Njoku to be recognised as authentic APGA national chairman.
The Supreme Court, which corrected some clerical errors on its October 14, 2021, judgment on the appeal filed by Jude Okeke against APGA, Njoku and others, on June 15, sent the new enrolment order to INEC.
Speaking to The Guardian on the development, Okorie said the electoral commission has no more reason to delay the official recognition of Njoku, who emerged from the May 31, 2019, national convention of the party as national chairman.
Okorie recalled that in an application dated May 6, 2022, counsel to Njoku drew the attention of the panel of five Supreme Court Justices headed by Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, to the mistake contained in their judgment of October 14, 2021, which mistakenly referred to Dr. Victor Oye as the National Chairman of APGA whose purported suspension by one Chief Jude Okeke was not justiciable.
He stated: “The panel found this application to be meritorious, relying on Order 8, Rule 16 of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which states that the “The Supreme Court can or by a letter (application) review any judgment once given and delivered by it save to correct any clerical mistake or some error arising from any accidental slip or omission, or do vary the judgment or order as to give effect to its meaning or intention.
“The panel promptly corrected the mistake, which had earlier referred to Oye as National Chairman to now read, “It needs to be stated at this point that the dispute being who should be acting National Chairman of the 1st respondent, APGA and whether the Chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku was validly replaced is within the confines of the internal affairs of the 1st respondent, which is not justiciable…”
While noting that the corrected judgment also expunged the name of Oye as the 2nd respondent and replaced it with the name of Njoku, Okorie declared that the judgment was duly certified by the Registrar of the Supreme Court and signed by the Chairman of the panel, Justice Peter-Odili, who delivered the lead judgment.
“INEC was duly served this corrected judgment. INEC also directed its legal team to obtain the Commission’s copy of the corrected judgment being the 4th respondent in the suit, Okorie stated, adding that INEC is now well equipped to do the right thing.
He warned that failure to accord Njoku the official recognition according to the law might endanger the 2023 general election, since according to him; the exclusion of APGA shall result in the cancellation and nullification of the entire exercise.
According to the APGA chieftain, there are other ominous possibilities that could be avoided if INEC does the right thing without further delay, regretting that the entire N350b appropriated by the National Assembly for the conduct of the 2023 general election could go down the drain.
He, therefore, called on President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubabakar Malami, the leadership of the National Assembly, Civil Society and pro-democracy organisations and well- meaning Nigerians to intervene in the matter to avert irreparable damage to Nigeria’s democratic process.
1 day ago
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has warned the public not to fall for a video suggesting it is auctioning vehicles. NCS on Friday refuted the video with scandalous narration announcing a purported auction of vehicles. Customs issued a statement on Friday to alert the general public on the video while warning them not to fall…
1 day ago
The Delta State Police Command has urged Point-of-Sale (POS) operators to be cautious when handling large cash transactions, particularly those involving armed individuals. It noted that customers requesting large cash transactions should be accompanied by a video by the POS operator. Police spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, stated on Friday in a post on X, noting…
1 day ago
Lagos State government on Friday said it has apprehended 10 fake enforcement officials around the Cele/Itire axis of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway of the state. The apprehended persons; Ojo Oluwaseun, Rafiu Agbabiaka, Babatunde Ibrahim, Abiodun Olusegun, Daniel Olanrewaju, Aweda Kabiru, Olufowobi Michael, Olamilekan Olasupo, Bunmi James and Iyiola Shola(female) were caught carrying out unauthorised enforcement using…
1 day ago
The Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede has monitored the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) exercise in Abuja. Prof. Oloyede who monitored the exercise at the Kogo Computer Based Tests (CBT) Centre in Bwari Area Council of Abuja, expressed satisfaction with the process. He reiterated the examination body's earlier order…
1 day ago
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has warned newly-registered companies against paying certain fees to obtain tax identification number (TIN) amongst others. The management of CAC gave this warning in a statement on its X handle on Friday. CAC said it noticed email messages sent to directors of newly-registered companies. READ ALSO: CAC targets registration of…
1 day ago
Sansani town, the headquarters of Sansani chiefdom in Gassol local government area of Taraba state, has been thrown into a state of mourning as unidentified gunmen carried out a brazen attack, claiming the life of monarch Abdulmutalib Jankada. Sources close to the matter said the attack occurred on Thursday inside the monarch's palace at about…
1 day ago
Ohanaeze Ndigbo has raised concern over "orchestrated internal and external conspiracies malicious aero-politics, imperialistic intrigues, and discrimination" to frustrate Air Peace operations internationally. In a statement on Friday signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Alex Ogbonnia, Ohanaeze Ndigbo noted at the plenary of their National Executive Committee (NEC), that such a plot was not healthy…
1 day ago
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed money laundering charges against former Attorney-General Mohammed Adoke. Justice Inyang Ekwo ruled on Friday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) failed to present a strong enough case (prima facie case) against Adoke. EFCC alleged that Adoke sometime in August 2013 in Abuja accepted a cash…
1 day ago
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has teamed up with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to meet up with the FIRS's projected N1.9trillion tax from the public sector. ICPC Chairman Dr. Musa Aliyu Adamu at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Abuja assured the FIRS that the…
1 day ago
Federal Character Commission (FCC), expressed its disappointment with the absence of the Chief Executives of supervisory bodies from federal tertiary institutions during a meeting with the commission. The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), and National Universities Commission (NUC) with…
×
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
0 Comments
We will review and take appropriate action.