Njoku says parties to Jigawa suit against APGA have questions

One of the factional national chairmen of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Edozie Njoku, has said that all those that took part in the suit against the party at the Jigawa State High Court have questions to answer.

Njoku said time had come to separate fraud from the ridiculous machinations of criminal minded-persons masquerading as politicians in APGA, even as he swore to get at those who forged his signature to obtain the court judgment.

It would be recalled that ruling on a suit between Alhaji Rabiu Garba Aliyu and Chief Jude Okeke and 10 others and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Justice Musa Ubale, ordered INEC to list the name of Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji as APGA candidate for the Anambra State governorship poll.

In his statement of claim, the plaintiff, Alhaji Rabiu Garba Aliyu, said he was duly and unanimously elected as the deputy national chairman (North) of the party at the APGA national convention held in Owerri on May 31, 2019.

He said further that the first defendant (Okeke) was also elected as the deputy national chairman, (South) while Chief Edozie Njoku was elected as national chairman of the party.

“Owing to some internal party issues, the NEC (National Executive Committee) of the party conducted disciplinary proceedings against the national chairman (Njoku) and found him liable and suspended him from his position.

“Following the suspension of the national chairman (Njoku), the NEC of the party appointed the 1st defendant, Chief Jude Okeke, as acting national chairman of the party pending the national convention,” the plaintiff claimed.

He said that APGA NEC considered and adopted the seven-man disciplinary committee report and recommendation “that the deputy national chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku, be suspended from office pending the national convention.”

Aliyu also disclosed that NEC appointed the deputy national chairman (South), Chief Jude Okeke (1st defendant), as the acting chairman of APGA pending the national convention, as well as mandating him (Okeke) to call for a national convention to consider the NEC report on suspension of the affected officers.

The plaintiff alleged that based on the above facts, particularly the resolution that there should be only one APGA governorship primary for the sake of the Anambra State poll, he filed an originating summons dated June 16, 2021 seeking the court’s determination of nine issues.

But Njoku, who addressed a press conference in his private office at Wuse 2, said although the truth about the APGA crisis has started coming out in bits, that he was duly elected as national chairman, he would adopt all legitimate processes to bring the parties to the Jigawa court case to account.

He disclosed that apart from forgery, cases of impersonation and outright perjury were employed to misguide and deceive the Jigawa State High Court.