The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Sly Ezeokenwa as the legitimate National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), dismissing an appeal by Edozie Njoku.
The court’s decision, delivered on Wednesday, also included a N20 million fine against Njoku for filing a frivolous lawsuit at the FCT High Court in Bwari.
This ruling follows a Federal High Court decision in Abuja, which had previously restrained Njoku from claiming the title of APGA National Chairman.
Justice James Omotosho, in his judgment, emphasized that there was no valid court order or judgment recognizing Njoku as the party’s leader.
Ezeokenwa and APGA had filed the lawsuit in response to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) replacing the names of Ezeokenwa and his executive team with those of Njoku’s faction on the INEC website in July 2024.
The lawsuit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/966/2024, challenged this action, claiming that the Njoku-led faction’s recognition by INEC was not supported by any court ruling.
In delivering the judgment, Justice Omotosho criticized INEC for accepting the Njoku-led faction, stating that there was no valid court order supporting their recognition.
He referred to a previous ruling by the Supreme Court in 2023, which clarified that Victor Oye had been legally recognized as APGA’s National Chairman, and that following the expiration of Oye’s term in 2023, a national convention in Awka produced Ezeokenwa and his executive as the rightful leaders of the party.
The court further ruled that INEC must correct the records and recognize Ezeokenwa and his team as APGA’s national leadership.
Justice Omotosho also noted that the Supreme Court had already settled the issue in a case between Njoku and Oye in March 2023, reaffirming that internal party matters, including leadership, were not subject to judicial interference.
He criticized Njoku’s claim and the actions of INEC, stating that there was no legal basis for recognizing him as the party’s chairman.
As a result of the ruling, INEC has been ordered to restore the names of Ezeokenwa and his executive team as the duly recognized leaders of APGA.
