He announced that the party under his leadership has approached an Abuja High Court to seek redress since the election management body has failed to provide evidence to prove that Chief Edozie Njoku was once a national officer of the party.
In its case with a suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/966/2024, filed Thursday 18 July 2024, before His Lordship Justice J.K Omotosho of Abuja High Court, APGA is praying the court to compel INEC to provide this evidence and ensure that the party leadership is not truncated by its partisanship.
Ezeokenwa explained that the party in pursuit of justice has raised certain posers for INEC and to enable right-thinking Nigerians arrive at their own conclusions on the issue at stake.
He said, “We are therefore at a loss regarding the recent false representation by INEC that Chief Edozie Njoku and his group are National Executives of APGA ‘by order of Court’ We challenge the Commission to produce any Court Order wherein the Court has made any positive pronouncement recognizing Chief Edozie Njoku and his group as National officers of APGA.
“We firmly assert that no such court order exists. The current representation by INEC concerning Chief Edozie Njoku and his group is false, illegal, baseless, and without any justification”.
The APGA chairman expressed regret that INEC, as an institution created by the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, is duty-bound to operate strictly within the confines of the law.
According to him, “It portends grave danger for our democracy for INEC to arrogate to itself the unfettered power to determine who the National Officers of a political party are without recourse to due process.
“It is abundantly clear from the plethora of court judgements and rulings that the legitimate leadership of APGA is firm under Barr. Sylvester Ezeokenwa.
“As a law-abiding political party, we have written INEC through our team of lawyers on the correct position. We trust that INEC will act swiftly to rectify any misinformation and uphold the integrity of our party’s leadership as ruled by various courts of law.
“ In light of these clear Judicial determinations, we urge INEC to correct this misinformation promptly. This sanctity of accurate information is critical to maintaining the trust and confidence of the public in our electoral process.”
Ezeokenwa noted that INEC duly monitored the legitimate APGA National convention held on May 31, 2023, at the International Conference Centre (ICC) Awka, Anambra State, by the binding statutory provision, and subsequently issued a report.
He argued that, “We expect INEC to act responsibly and rectify the publication to reflect the legitimate leadership of APGA, under Barr. Sylvester Ezeokenwa.
The chairman reiterated that APGA as a viable opposition party which Nigerians look up to, remains united under its legitimate leadership and will continue to pursue the best interests of party members and the Nation at large.
He charged INEC to always act in accordance with provisions of the Constitution and the Act setting it up and not dabble into the internal affairs of political parties.