Soludo’s Stratagem To Destroy APGA Uncovered- Chekwa Okorie

A SPEECH DELIVERED BY CHIEF DR. CHEKWAS OKORIE (OJE OZI NDIGBO) AT A PRESS CONFERENCE HELD AT THE FCT NIGERIA UNION OF JOURNALISTS (NUJ) UTAKO, ABUJA ON TUESDAY 16TH JULY, 2024.

PROFESSOR CHARLES CHUKWUMA SOLUDO STRATAGEM TO DESTROY APGA UNCOVERED

It is a common knowledge and a fact of the record of the Supreme Court of Nigeria that Chief Edozie Njoku and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) elected at the National Convention of the Party on 31st May, 2019, at Owerri, Imo State were the authentic leadership of the party.

The erstwhile rival of Chief Edozie Njoku, Chief Victor Oye with the support and financial backing of Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, introduced all manner of intrigues, blackmail and subterfuge which combined to deter INEC from complying with the clear judgment and order of the Supreme Court which had delivered a landmark judgment in Appeal No. SC 687/2021 of 24th March, 2023, which unequivocally and expressly affirmed Chief Edozie Njuku as the National Chairman of APGA.

Following the clear provision of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Otumba Kamaru Lateef Odidan, National Vice Chairman, South West and Alh. Rabiu Mustapha, National Welfare Officer, two members of the National Working Committee who were elected at the National Convention of the party referred to above, proceeded to a trial court to enforce the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered on March 24th, 2023. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides that any court of record below has the power to enforce the judgment of the Supreme Court.

In the course of the trial at the FCT High Court, Bwari, in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/4068/2023, Chief Victor Oye in obvious attempt to overeach the court, rushed to a High Court in Anambra State to procure a judgment fraudulently that allowed him to proceed with the Convention in spite of the Supreme Court judgment and the pendency of the suit for enforcement of the Supreme Court judgment and in spite of the clear order of the trial court restraining all parties in the suit from holding any meetings, congresses, primaries, and conventions until the determination of the suit before the court.

The court further restrained INEC from supervising or recognizing any action taken by the parties in the suit in disobedience of the order of court. Victor Oye sponsord by Professor Chukwuma Soludo flouted all the orders of court and managed to convince INEC to recognize their illegal convention. On 6th June 2023, in a well-considered judgment, Hon. Justice Mohammed Madugu enforced the judgment of the Supreme Court and nullified all the illegal actions taken by Victor Oye in active collaboration with INEC.On the 9th of November, 2023, the trial court in Suit No. FCT/HC/4068/2023 found Chief Victor Oye and Professor Mahmood Yakubu guilty of contempt of court and magnanimously allowed them 14 working days to purge themselves of contempt or face the full wrath of the law.

Determined to denigrate the Supreme Court and ridicule the trial court, Chief Victor Oye proceeded to the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment for the enforcement of the Supreme Court judgment and the judgment that found him and Professor Yakubu guilty of contempt of court. At the Court of Appeal in appeal No. CA/ABS/CV/1169/2023, the appellant, Oye, formulated 6 grounds of appeal and a further 4 grounds of appeal for the judgment on contempt of court. On 28th June, 2024, the 3-man panel of Justices Uchechukwu Onyemenam, A.I. Banjoko and P.C. Obiorah in a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam resolved all the 10 grounds of appeal in favour of the authentic leadership of APGA led by Chief Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA and subsequently dismissed the two appeals.

It is noteworthy that INEC finally complied with the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered on 24th March, 2023, enforced by the FCT High Court on 6th June, 2023, and further re-enforced by the Court of Appeal on 28th June, 2024. This hard won victory which is being celebrated in Nigeria and abroad has come under vicious attack by the recalcitrant Professor Chukwuma Soludo. Only recently, after Professor Soludo had spent some time in Abuja, he announced in a public event in Anambra State that he had concluded arrangements while at Abuja to get the Supreme Court to reverse itself and get INEC to withdraw the recognition the Commission had given to Chief Edozie Njoku and his executive.

Professor Chukwuma Soludo has peddled the information among his close allies and the rebellious APGA faction working with him that he has secured the assurance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who he claimed pledged to influence the Supreme Court to review and reverse the judgment delivered on 24th March, 2023 in favour Chief Edozie Njoku. He further assured his faction of APGA that INEC would without delay withdraw the recognition given to Chief Njoku and his National Working Committee.

Professor Chukwuma Soludo had boasted to me directly that he would use everything within his powers as the governor of Anambra State, to ensure that Chief Edozie Njoku would never be the National Chairman of APGA. He vowed that if for any reason he failed to stop Njoku from becoming National Chairman, he would resign from APGA within 24 hours and that APGA would cease to exist as a political party.

At that point I took strong exception to his boast. I told him that since he was not God that made APGA possible 22 years ago when it was registered by INEC as a political party that he lacked the power to determine the survival of APGA. Notwithstanding the altercation between Professor Soludo and myself, Chief Edozie Njoku and I have individually and separately extended hand of fellowship to him for peace to reign in APGA. Many well-meaning leaders from across the country who upon realizing that it was Professor Soludo that was the stumbling block to a peaceful APGA reached out to him several times. He remained obstinate and unyielding.

Having secured an all round victory for APGA in 3 different courts from the Supreme Court, back to the trial court up to the Appeal Court as narrated in this address, Chief Edozie Njoku, the authentic National Chairman of APGA has demonstrated maturity and magnanimity in victory. He has seized every opportunity both in private and public domains to stretch his hand of fellowship to Prof. Soludo and all members of APGA, irrespective of factional inclination, that the time to unite and rebuild the party has come.

I know as well as so many well-meaning Nigerians that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a thoroughbred democrat and a progressive politician who after winning his presidential election of 2023, patiently and diligently successfully defended the outcome of the election both at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and at the Supreme Court.

When the Supreme Court pronounced him the duly elected president of Nigeria his strongest rivals knew that there must be an end to litigation. They threw in the towel and assumed their place as opposition parties while preparing for future opportunities. Nigeria would have become ungovernable with dire consequences to lives and property if those who lost in that election and the subsequent litigation had rejected the outcome of the Supreme Court judgment and resorted to self-help.

The worst misrepresentation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the Governor of Anambra State is to associate his name with the plot to commit democratic suicide. It is yet to be seen the level of Professor Soludo’s vaunted connection and intrigues that will make the Supreme Court reverse itself in a judgment delivered by a panel of 5 Justices of the apex court of Nigeria. I believe that it is only in the hallucination of Professor Soludo that the Supreme Court at his behest will commit judicial suicide. Prof Soludo and his cohorts are at liberty to exit APGA and join any party of their choice.

They will not be the first to take that option and they will not be the last to do so. But to design a plot to collapse APGA into another party just to promote his personal political scheming and ambition is not only sacrilegious but an abomination that cries to high heaven.

It is by the special grace of God that an effort l initiated in 1996 to found a political party in Nigeria which did not succeed in the first attempt and the second attempt in 1998, but succeeded in 2002, still exists on the register of INEC as a political party, notwithstanding the machinations of those who did not share in the vision of APGA as a progressive political party. Some of the non‐believers saw this dream as a cash cow and avenue for stupendous wealth.

I am not aware that there is a political party in the history of this country that was celebrated in Nigeria and in the diaspora upon its registration like APGA.I am the vision bearer of APGA as well as its founder.

Upon the registration of APGA on June 22, 2002 by INEC, I broke an 80-year jinx (1923-2002), a period no Igbo man founded a registered political party in Nigeria. APGA is the first Igbo contribution to the development of party politics in Nigeria. APGA is a national political party with progressive ideology as may be found in its Manifesto and the objective principles of its Constitution.

APGA believes in constructive engagement even while it is in opposition.

APGA has had enough leadership crises in 20 of its 22 years existence; enough crises to last it for centuries. All we want now is a peaceful environment to re-launch APGA as a national political party that will take its rightful place in Nigeria’s democratic space.

It is APGA that provided Governor Peter Obi the platform, the opportunity and the exposure to launch himself as a two term governor of Anambra State and now a key player in national politics.

This party provided the platform for former Governor Rochas Okorocha to realize his long elusive aspiration to become the governor of Imo State.Governor Willie Obiano is another beneficiary and product of APGA.

The Late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu used the platform of APGA to re-launch himself to relevance in Nigeria’s political space. Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo had made two previous attempts to be governor of Anambra State on the platform of other political parties. He was finally able to achieve his ambition on the platform of APGA.

The God we worship will not allow him and his cohorts to destroy our God given party. This will not happen in his life time.

The God we worship will strengthen Chief Edozie Njoku and endow him and all the leaders of the authentic APGA with the wisdom and fortitude to serve the party diligently, forthrightly, and with the fear of God.

We call on all well-meaning Nigerians, especially, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the father of the nation to prevail on Governor Chukwuma Soludo to rein-in whatever that is propelling him to target APGA for destruction.

I wish to repeat that Professor Chukwuma Soludo joined APGA voluntarily and is at liberty to exit same way without attempting to destroy a house he did not build.

I urge the National Chairman of the party, Chief Edozie Njoku and the National Working Committee to immediately write formal petitions to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Chairman, National Judicial Council, the National Security Adviser, major Embassies in Nigeria whose countries practice democracy, the European Union, United Nations etc on this threat to democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria by a single inordinately ambitious man called Professor Chukwuma Soludo, the Governor of Anambra State.

Thank you for your patience.

Chief Dr. Chekwas Okorie Oje Ozi Ndigbo

Founder and Pioneer National Chairman, APGA.

July 16th, 2024.