APGA Crisis: Agbaso Heads to Supreme Court

 By Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

A faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) led by Chief Martin Agbaso has approached the Supreme Court to set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal in Enugu that vacated the order of mandamus it had earlier given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise and deal with him as the authentic chairman of the party.

The group had in an appeal case number CA/367/2017E/291M/ 2017, sought for an order of injunction, restraining Dr Victor Oye from parading himself as APGA national chairman.

The group also sought an order, restraining both the police and INEC or other agencies from dealing or relating with Oye in any manner whatsoever as the national chairman of APGA, pending the determination of the appeal at the Supreme Court against the Appeal Court judgment

Speaking with journalists at the weekend on the notice for appeal and stay of execution of the judgment to INEC he filed at the apex court, the Deputy National Chairman, South of the party, Jerry Obasi, accused INEC of being biased in the way it is currently handing the APGA crisis.

Obasi regretted that the commission has continued to recognise and deal with the Oye-led faction even when the order of mandamus was served them before it was vacated, adding that INEC has refused to accept any correspondence from their group since the Appeal Court order was served.

He regretted that rather than being an unbiased umpire, the commission has glaringly acted without recourse to any law on the way it romances with the Oye led group.

“We are here to express our very serious and apparent disgust, shock and disappointment over the stand INEC has taken so far in the dispute in APGA, where we have two feuding groups claiming the leadership of the party.

“INEC has shown a very cantankerous attitude towards us; they don’t receive legitimate documents from us. Even when this matter is still pending at the various courts. Like there is a motion for stay of execution of the Appeal court ruling pending at the Supreme Court, which we brought to INEC today.

“And the same letter we want to disseminate to INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, but the clerks to the National Chairman vehemently refused to receive mail from us. The same thing they have done to us before now. Even when there was an order of mandamus, that is subsistence, but they still refused to listen to us.

“They said it was an instruction from above, that they shouldn’t receive any letter from us. Whether there is court order or not. That they don’t care. And every effort to stop this misbehaviour has been to no avail. If we come to INEC, nobody wants to listen to us, so long we don’t come from Oye, may be because we are not money bags, we are not dispensing money like the Oye group.

“INEC accepted to attend the primaries election conducted by Oye group, even though it was very clear that at the time of that primary, by August 15, Agbaso at the time, remained the authentic APGA national chairman. But without recourse to any law, they still accepted to go on with Oye group. What law now are they respecting?

Related Articles