Founding chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Chekwas Okorie, has sided with the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) decision to retain the name of Chief Raph Okey Nwosu on its portal as the national chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Last month, precisely on July 3, Nwosu had, at an elaborate public ceremony, handed over to a former President of the Senate, Dr. David Alechenu Mark, as the interim national chairman of the ADC, shortly after the party was adopted by the coalition group of opposition politicians.

As part of the process of transferring the ADC leadership to new members of the National Working Committee (NWC), Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, a former Minister of the Interior, was selected as the protem national secretary.

However, despite that public transfer of leadership, which was preceded by the voluntary resignation of the former NWC members, the electoral umpire yesterday retained the names of the former chairman and secretary, among others, on its website.

Although INEC did not provide reasons to justify the retention of the old leaders, the development raised public apprehension, with many stakeholders doubting the impartiality of the electoral umpire.

But in his reaction to The Guardian, Okorie dismissed insinuations that INEC may have acted out of coercion or inducement from external quarters, stressing that while Nwosu and the former leaders have entered into a binding MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the new officers, the arrangement was yet to be ratified at a national convention.
Going down memory lane, Okorie recalled how Nwosu left APGA in 2005 to found the ADC, remarking that for over 20 years he (Nwosu) remained the national chairman, without INEC questioning his prolonged chairmanship either out of ignorance or negligence.

While contending that there has been no effective court process or pronouncement terminating his chairmanship, the former APGA chairman noted that INEC’s action has nothing to do with claims by the 2023 presidential candidate of ADC, Mr. Dumebi Kachikwu.

He stated: “INEC itself, that is supposed to monitor political parties and their administrations, did not come up with any query to say, why are you still here after so many years?

“So, on paper, he remained chairman, and INEC, either as a result of their own negligence or ignorance, continues to work with him up to now. Currently, Ralph Nwosu’s leadership of ADC, to the best of my knowledge, has already entered into a certain understanding based on an MOU with the new leaders of ADC.

“All that is needed now, since he continues to enjoy the recognition of INEC, is a mini-convention, which I know they have planned to hold either this month or some other time soon. There, they will formally hand over that leadership in the presence of an INEC monitoring team, and the records of INEC will reflect the new people.”

“But on paper now, Ralph Nwosu has already fulfilled all the—himself and his leadership, including his national secretary, Said Baba Abdullahi. They already fulfilled all the conditions required in their MOU with the new leaders—the new owners of ADC, let me put it that way.”

Okorie reiterated that only a convention, which is the highest authority of a party, can formalise the change of leadership such that INEC will have no option but to revise its records.

“So, Ralph Nwosu is not holding firmly to the leadership. It is only INEC that is saying there is still a step to be done before they can recognise what has happened, because it happened in the public glare, when Nwosu handed over power to David Mark and raised his hand, and the media carried it.”

Contrasting the development in ADC with that of the Labour Party (LP), Okorie blamed the judiciary for making ambivalent declarations, regretting that INEC dilly-dallied in taking firm decisions after Mr. Julius Abure’s tenure elapsed.

His words: “Now, INEC has made a pronouncement, and it (the commission) seems to be sticking to its pronouncement. And it is the court that has actually been causing the mess in political parties—I mean the courts generally. But the apex court is the Supreme Court. And that is the same thing they do even in our elections.

“Look at the judgment they gave to Labour at the Supreme Court—it is not different from what they gave to APGA and what they gave to PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) that will make both sides believe that they got something out of the courts.

“That the leadership of a party is within the purview of the party, and as such, no court has jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, who is the party? You have Abure standing there with a couple of persons, not even one elected person is with him. Then you have the Peter Obi angle and Nenadi Usman leadership that has all the elected people in LP, including a governor.

“And so, you can say without missing words that if you are saying who is the party, the party is on the other side. Everything that makes a party a party, including NEC and all the organs of a party that are functional, are on Nenadi’s side.”