Alleged Disobedience: NRM Threatens Mahmood Yakubu with Contempt Charge

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The National Rescue Movement (NRM) has threatened to file contempt charge against the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, over his continued refusal to recognise Chief Edozie Njoku as its national chairman.

According to the party,  the refusal of Yakubu to accept the Njoku-led leadership which emerged at an emergency convention of the party in January this year, tantamount to disobedience of court’s judgment.

Meanwhile, Njoku, on Thursday, urged the INEC boss to obey the valid and subsisting court judgment that has resolved the leadership crisis in the party in the interest of Nigeria and democracy.

Speaking with newsmen at the premises of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Asokoro, where a case that was filed by aggrieved members of the party was thrown out, Njoku wondered why Yakubu was yet to comply with the judgment of the court five months after, and without going on appeal.

He recalled that a Federal High Court in Abuja, had in a ruling delivered on January 16, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 45/ 25, issued an order of mandamus that directed the electoral body to monitor the convention the NRM held the next day and accept its outcome.

Njoku stated that party’s convention was organised to correct the lopsidedness and lack of Federal Character in the National Executive Committee (NEC), of the party, in compliance with section 82(1) and 83 (1) of the Electoral Act.

He added that following INEC’s refusal to monitor the exercise, the party, re-approached the court and secured a favourable judgement that validated the outcome of the convention.

Njoku stressed that the court, in the judgment that was delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, held that INEC’s failure to monitor NRM’s convention amounted to a refusal to discharge its constitutional duty, contrary to extant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, and therefore unconstitutional and unlawful.

Besides, the NRM national chairman stressed that Justice James Omotosho of the same court had in another judgment, held that a political party was only expected to give notice of its convention to INEC.

He said the court held that it was at the discretion of the electoral body to attend the convention it was invited or not.

While observing that neither INEC nor any dissatisfied member of the party appealed against the high court judgment, Njoku argued that since the 90 days period allowed for an appeal to be lodged against the judgment has elapsed, the party is left with no choice than to initiate a contempt action against Yakubu.

Meanwhile Njoku disclosed that the party has through its lawyer, Mr. Oladimeji Ekengba of Joe Agi, SAN, & Associates, in a letter dated June 4, notified the INEC boss of the consequences of his continued disobedience to the court judgment.

Part of the letter to the INEC Chairman, a copy of which was sighted by our correspondent read: “We urge you to obey the judgment of court and purge yourself of this contemptuous act.”

“Should you fail, we shall not hesitate to urge the court to commit you to prison, in line with the rule of law. A stitch in time saves nine.”

Speaking on the way forward, Njoku expressed optimism that a united NRM would serve as a strong opposition platform, ahead of the 2027 general election.

“Our happiness is that the crisis in NRM is over. We are going to build a formidable political party.”

“Even though we are not considering the idea of a coalition yet, however, we are going to have a small meeting next week. After then, we will decide.”

“Already, we have gotten 18 new offices. We have to build ourselves first before thinking of a coalition,” he added.