Court Orders INEC to Recognise Edozie Njoku as Duly Elected NRM Chairman

Alex Enumah in Abuja

A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise Chief Edozie Njoku as duly elected National Chairman of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).

Justice Obiora Egwuatu made the order while delivering judgement in the suit filed by the party against the electoral umpire.

Njoku had emerged as national chairman from the party’s emergency national convention held in Abuja, on January 17.

The emergency national convention was held to fill vacant positions in the party’s National Executive Committee(NEC).

According to the leadership of the NRM, the convention became imperative to address what it called “lopsidedness in its composition” in order to accord a national outlook and spread to the party.

However, INEC refused to accept the outcome of the convention on the grounds that it did not monitor the exercise, hence the current court action.

Delivering judgement in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/45/2025, the court held that there was evidence that NRM served on INEC a valid notice of its emergency national convention and that it was wrong for the electoral body to have refused to monitor the exercise as the law mandates it to do.

Besides, Egwuatu held that the notice from the NRM, not being short of the required 21 days, INEC had no reason not to have monitored the emergency convention.

The judge said he was convinced that the NRM effectively made out a case to warrant the grant of the reliefs sought.

Justice Egwuatu declared that, pursuant to the provisions of Sections 82(1)} and 83 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the respondent is under a constitutional obligation to accept and monitor the emergency convention of the applicant (NRM) to fill vacancy and correct lopsidedness in its National Executive Committee (NEC).

He also declared that the failure of the respondent (INEC) to accept and monitor the emergency convention of the applicant to fill vacancy and correct lopsidedness in its NEC amounted to a refusal/failure to discharge its constitutional and/or public duty contrary to the provisions of Sections 82(1) and 83 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and therefore unconstitutional and unlawful. 

The judge proceeded to issue an order of mandamus compelling INEC “to accept and monitor the emergency convention of the applicant to fill vacancy and correct lopsidedness in its NEC and recognize the decision or outcome of the convention.”

Reacting after the judgement, NRM National Chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku urged INEC to graciously obey the court order. 

“Today, it has been made abundantly clear to INEC that everything that came out of our emergency national convention held on January 17, both constitutional amendment is legal and binding on INEC. 

“We are appealing to INEC to please, accept the order of mandamus imposed on them by the court that they should accept immediately our leadership. 

“There are a lot of bye elections that will come up very soon and an election in Anambra. 

“So, we are asking INEC to please, put everything behind them and give us equal playing ground so that we can go into the election and see how we can save the party from going backward. 

“NRM has before now, been going backward, and now, we want it to go forward to start building our structures. 

“We are begging INEC to please, not to take it personal. It is an order of court compelling them to recognize us instantly,” Chief Njoku stated.