By Jonathan Nda- Isaiah
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed the appeal filed by one of the factional chairmen of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Ike Oye, for lacking in merit.
Consequently, the appellate court has ordered the Federal High Court to grant an accelerated hearing to the suit pending before it wherein Chief Edozie Njoku/Jude Okeke group had in 2019 applied for an order of mandamus compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise them as the validly elected chairman of APGA.
This is following the withdrawal of a suit filed against him by Chief Victor Oye and wherein the judge vacated the order restraining APGA from recognizing Chief Edozie Njoku/Jude Okeke group as APGA leadership.
Upon the application for the order of ,andamus, Chief Oye applied to the court to strike out the name of APGA from the application for the order.
Justice A. R. Mohammed in his ruling had held that he would take the ruling of the application to strike out the name of APGA together with the judgment of the substantive application but Chief Oye rushed to the Court of Appeal seeking an order of the Appeal Court to direct Justice A. R. Mohammed to deliver his ruling immediately.
However, while dismissing the appeal the three-man panel in a unanimous judgment read by Justice Jauro affirmed the ruling of Justice A. R. Mohammed in reserving ruling on an interlocutory application before him until judgment as delivering the ruling at the interlocutory stage would touch on the substantive suit.
The Appeal Court, therefore, ordered the Federal High Court to grant an accelerated hearing to the Suit.
It would be noted that during the pendency of this appeal, Chief Edozie Njoku was removed from office by the NEC of the party, and Chief Jude Okeke was appointed as the Ag. National Chairman of the Party in line with the Constitution of the party. The implication of this is that the beneficiary of this Suit will be Chief Jude Okeke who has taken over from Chief Edozie Njoku until his removal is reversed by a Court of Appeal.
Reacting to the judgment, Comrade Ikechukwu Chukwunyere , APGA National Publicity Secretary, Chief Okeke hailed the Appeal Court decision as a reaffirmation of his long-standing belief that Oye days as parading as APGA factional chairman will soon end.
