CONTENDING WITH FACTS

 CONTENDING WITH FACTS: THE BURDEN OF VICTOR OYE AND HIS CO TRAVELLERS

In the recent past, the media has been awash with avalanche of misguided, delusional and masturbatory publications against Chief Edozie Njoku, the National Chairman of APGA. Expectedly, this ignoble crusade is being led by one Barrister Sly Ezeokenwa, a legal protégé and moppet that is acting on behalf of Ozonkpu Victor Oye.

For the avoidance of doubt, this piece is intended to educate the discerning public on the crux and crucibles of the matter; bearing in mind the timeless and ageless conviction that facts are stubborn.

It is naïve and primitive for Oye and his co travellers to allege that Chief Edozie isn’t a member of the party. This is the height of disillusionment. And, at the same time state that Chief Edozie is the factional leader of APGA. This incongruent comment explains the dysfunctional state of mind of Oye and his co travellers.

Incontrovertibly, Chief Edozie is TRULY a founding member of APGA since 2002. Chief Edozie had also contested as the flag bearer of APGA for the seat of Federal House of Rep Onitsha North and South Constituency in which Chief Ezeokenwa who is incidentally the father of Barr. Sly Ezeokenwa was Party Chairman Onitsha South Local Government Area and friend who incidentally handled and disbursed logistics and funds on behalf of Chief Edozie Njoku in the said election. Chief Edozie Njoku was the Party’s first Vice National Chairman of the South East.

In addition to this, Chief Edozie has also occupied other high ranking positions at various points in the party. While in such positions, the party benefitted immensely from his sense of Organization, Democratic Tutelage, Intellectual and Leadership acumen.

As a true democrat, Chief Edozie shares the indisputable and unapologetic belief that democracy is the only game in town. As part of the original APGA, Chief Edozie has a perfect grasp of APGA Constitution and its internal operational dynamics. The Constitution of APGA clearly states that Party Conventions CANNOT be done without congresses duly conducted at the Ward, Local Government and State levels.

Similarly, Delegates and Party Executives are elected at the Congress at the Ward, Local Government and State levels of the Party. Then, they converge at the Convention to elect all the National Executives. The convention is the highest Organ of the Party.

Sequel to the above, APGA as a party agreed to hold their Ward, LGA and State congresses on 2nd, 3rd and 6th of May, 2019; before the end of the Party Executives tenure on 15th of May 2019 and the National Convention on May 31, 2019 at Owerri.

In 2019, the Wards, LGAs and State congresses were actually held in all the 36 States of the federation as agreed. However, Oye and his co travellers realizing that the congresses didn’t produce their preferred candidates so as to facilitate their reelection, quickly, they decided to hold an emergency NEC meeting to give them powers to conduct fresh Congresses.

In their face saving mission, Oye and Co hurriedly held an emergency NEC meeting on May 14, 2019 at the Government House, Awka. That ignoble NEC meeting arrived at a contrary decision that mocked the party’s earlier agreement. It was a crusade against sanity and APGA’s grundnorm. At that NEC meeting, they dissolved the BoT, cancelled the Congresses conducted at the Wards, LGAs and State on May, 2, 3 and 6, 2019 respectively. Arbitrarily, they decided to conduct fresh Congresses for the Wards, LGAs and States for May 19, 21 and 23, 2019. Oye and co took these despicable decisions without recourse to the fact that the tenures of the Party Executives who are to conduct these Congress elections at the Ward, LGA and State levels expires on May 15, 2019.

Angered by Oye’s obfuscating arrogance, the BOT went to High Court Kwale and got an Order restraining Oye and Co from conducting any form of Convention at Awka. Recall that the Convention Committee had already been constituted. Based on this, the Convention Committed went on with their assigned duty at Concorde Hotel Owerri and produced Chief Edozie Njoku, as duly elected National Chairman of APGA and the entire National Executives as its members.

The Kwale Court acted in discernible sagacity because Oye’s led exco lacked the constitutional rights, powers and privileges to go ahead with any form of convention, because it derives its powers from an illegally constituted NEC meeting. An Order of Court was given stopping every decision emanating from the purported NEC meeting.

Agitated by the Kwale Court Order, Samson Olalere and others, acting on the promptings of Oye ran to High Court Ibadan to give the planned illegal convention some sense of legitimacy. Armed with the Ibadan High Court, Oye and Co went ahead to organize a parallel Convention at Awka, without duly elected delegates; notwithstanding the fact that the Party’s BOT had obtained an Ex parte Order stopping the Convention from being held.

This is the epicenter of the whole matter. The fact that Oye went ahead to conduct a parallel and illegal convention, using party delegates that their tenure had expired as at May 15, 2019 makes his purported convention a nullity before the law. This is Oye’s greatest nightmare.

Apparently, the judgment of the Appeal Court Ibadan on September 14, 2020, is nothing but a political interment for the vaulting and voracious and avaricious ambition of Ozonkpu Victor Oye.

Going by this, it smacks of odoriferous ignorance for Oye and co to lounge in the exuberant euphoria that the presence of INEC at their ill-advised convention would confer legitimacy on their illegal convention. Let it be known that INEC is a creation of the law and as a law abiding institution they cannot go against constituted authorities. It is worth mentioning that INEC has always respected the court. And, this one will not be an exception.

Therefore, the congresses of May 19, 21 and 23, 2019 doesn’t exist in the eyes of the law. In matters of this nature, the law deals with CONCRETE and VERIFIABLE facts. In ‘The Law of Evidence in Nigeria’, Akintola Aguda argues that the law relies on incontrovertible facts that are substantially unarguable to determine cases. Therefore, it is no rocket science how the Ibadan Appeal Court arrived at the September 14, 2020 judgement.

The judgement was substantially hinged on the premise that the tenures of the Ward, Local Government and State Officers that partook in Oye’s convention had expired. So, their participation in that convention rendered it a nullity before the law.

Without fear of contradiction, the Ibadan Appeal Court judgment has further confirmed the legitimacy of the Owerri convention that produced Chief Edozie Njoku as APGA National Chairman. Those who want to battle with what the gods had given their chosen ones must first battle with their tears.

Okoro C. Benedict