New Trouble For Soludo As APGA Faction Drags Him To Supreme Court

August 10, (THEWILL) – The Governorship Candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) of the Jude Okeke-led faction of the party, Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji, has rejected the judgement of the Court of Appeal sitting in Kano that set aside the judgement of the Jigawa High Court that earlier declared him and Okeke as the authentic Gubernatorial Candidate and National Chairman of the party respectively.

The Jigawa High Court had earlier declared Okeke as Chairman of the party and the candidate that emerged from his leadership as authentic.

The judgement of the Court of Appeal sitting in Kano had set aside the judgement of the Jigawa High Court and instead recognised Professor Chukwuma Soludo as the bonafide Governorship Candidate for APGA in the coming election.

However, the party faction, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, has instructed lawyers to Chief Jude Okeke, to take all necessary steps to appeal the judgement to the Supreme Court to get it to disqualify Soludo and recognise Umeoji as APGA’s candidate.

The statement said, “The judgement is just a mere temporary setback, which will be set aside by the Supreme Court as quickly and easily as possible.

“The Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji campaign will therefore continue unhindered pending the judgement of the Supreme Court where victory is assured. All supporters and party members are therefore urged to remain peaceful and law abiding while maintaining the confidence level as there is nothing that can stop an idea whose time has come.”

The Okeke-led APGA said that reports from the legal team noted that, “The Special Panel of the Court of Appeal turned law upside down by sitting on appeal over its earlier ruling and setting that ruling aside without consequential justice.

“How could the Panel rule on the 30th of July, 2021 that the matter before it was a pre-election matter and struck out the Appeal by Chief Edozie Njoku filed on the 22nd July, 2021 that it was filed out of time and then come today to now rule that the case is no longer a pre-election matter, just to allow Victor Oye’s appeal that was filed on the 30th July, 2021?

“The Supreme Court will gladly remind the Court of Appeal that consistency in its ruling is one of the core pillars of our judicial system and that a Court cannot sit on appeal over itself nor arbitrarily overrule itself.

“The Supreme Court being the highest Court in the land will indeed have an opportunity to do substantial justice and restore the ticket of Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji as the APGA Governorship candidate and High Chief Jude Okeke as the National Chairman of the Party..”