Supreme Court Affirms Sly Ezeokenwa as APGA National Chairman, Fines Edozie Njoku N20m

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has upheld an appeal by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), affirming Sylvester Ezeokenwa as the party’s national chairman.

In its judgment delivered on Wednesday, the apex court also imposed a fine of ₦20 million on Edozie Njoku for filing what it described as a frivolous lawsuit at the FCT High Court, Bwari.

Federal High Court Ruling Against Njoku

This judgment comes days after the Federal High Court in Abuja barred Njoku from parading himself as APGA’s national chairman. Justice James Omotosho had ruled that no valid court order or judgment, including one from the Supreme Court, recognized Njoku as the party’s leader.

The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/966/2024, was filed by APGA and its recognized national chairman, Ezeokenwa, against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Njoku.

The suit followed INEC’s removal of Ezeokenwa and his executive officers’ names from its website and their replacement with Njoku’s faction on July 9, 2024.

Court’s Ruling

In his judgment, Justice Omotosho stated that INEC had erred in recognizing the Njoku-led faction, emphasizing that there was no subsisting court order to support such recognition.

“The Supreme Court’s decision was clear on who the national chairman should be, and it is certainly not Chief Edozie Njoku.

Chief Victor Oye was recognized by law, and after the expiration of his tenure in 2023, a national convention held on May 31, 2023, in Awka, Anambra State, produced the 2nd Plaintiff (Ezeokenwa) and other executives,” Omotosho ruled.

The court further directed INEC to reinstate the names of Ezeokenwa and his executive officers as the rightful national leadership of APGA.

Supreme Court’s Clarification

The Supreme Court had earlier resolved the leadership dispute between Njoku and Oye in its judgment in SC/CV/687/2021 on March 24, 2023. The court affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeal, which set aside a Jigawa High Court ruling and held that the appointment of an acting national chairman falls within the internal affairs of the party and is non-justiciable.

Justice Omotosho reiterated that there was no Supreme Court order recognizing Njoku as APGA chairman. He criticized INEC’s actions as baseless and inconsistent with the court’s decision.

The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively ends the prolonged leadership crisis within APGA, cementing Ezeokenwa’s position as the party’s national chairman.