The judgment in favour of Dr. Oye followed the multiple
appeals filed by Chief Martin Agbaso and Mike Alioke whose suits were dismissed
by the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal and reinstated Dr. Oye as the
authentic national chairman of the party.
Other Justices of the Supreme Court on the panel include
Justices Bode Rhodes-Vivour; Mary Odili and Inyang Okoro
Chief Agbaso had sought for an order
of mandamus from an Enugu High Court on May 22, 2017 to compel the Independent
National Electoral Commission, police and other stakeholders to recognize him
as the national chairman of the party to which the court granted in his favour.
The order followed a motion brought
by Comrade Mike Alioke, the party's deputy chairman in Enugu State for INEC to
recognize a previous resolution by party stakeholders to appoint Agbaso as
acting national chairman following the vacuum created by the Deputy National
Chairman, Ozo Nwabueze Okafor who died months after he was installed to replace
Dr. Oye as the APGA boss.
Comrade Alioke’s suit had challenged
the continued stay in office by Dr. Oye after the National Working Committee of
the party had affirmed his suspension on October 5, last year.
Comrade Alioke had pleaded that the
order was necessary on the police in order to avoid a breakdown of law and
order in the party.
Dr. Oye had on August 10, 2017,
contested an Enugu High Court decision at the Court of Appeal, Enugu which set
aside the order of mandamus earlier granted by the court to alienate
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, security agencies and other
stakeholders from recognizing the participation of his factional APGA from the
electoral process including the 2017 gubernatorial election in Anambra State.
The Court of Appeal order setting
aside the Order of Mandamus was made same day the factional APGA led by Dr. Oye
had organized and conducted the party’s primary which produced Chief Willie
Obiano as the flag bearer of the party for the November 2017 gubernatorial
election.
The intendment of Agbaso’s suit was
to unseat Dr. Oye and install Hygers Igwebuike who had emerged from his
factional party’s primary ahead of the gubernatorial election.
Dissatisfied with the Court of
Appeal’s order, Chief Agbaso had approached the Supreme Court through his
lawyer, Paul Erokoro (SAN), arguing that Dr. Oye should not benefit from the
judgment without first seeking the leave of the court to appeal it as according
to him, he (Oye) had allegedly obtained the appeal judgment when he was not
part of the case at the lower court.
‘… The ruling of the
lower court did not put into consideration the provision of the law that leave
must first be sought and obtained before appealing as an interested
party", Agbaso's counsel argued, citing a similar case, Ani Vs Oni.
But Oye's counsel, had put up brilliant argument insisting
that Dr. Oye’s suit was in line with constitutional provision and dismissed the
argument by Counsel to Agbaso as an academic exercise.
Reacting to the judgment, a Senior Special Assistant to the
Wife of the Governor on Special Duties, Mrs Amaka Ezike said that intention of
the appellants was to distract the governor, Chief Willie Obiano from his good
works he has been doing, which according to her was not achieved by those who
resorted to court to achieve performance delay.
Osibe Osiberoha
Supreme Court affirms Oye as APGA National Chairman, dismisses Agbaso’s suit
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Friday, July 13, 2018
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Reviewed by Unknown
on
Friday, July 13, 2018
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