BUSINESS HALLMARK
Nigeria’s Supreme Court has affirmed Sly Ezeokenwa as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The ruling puts an end to the party’s protracted leadership dispute.
In two unanimous judgments on Wednesday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that Edozie Njoku wrongly laid claims to the APGA chairmanship.
In the judgment read by Justice Stephen Adah, the panel held that in its 2021 judgment, only declaratory reliefs were granted and the reliefs are not executory.
The judge added that there was no order or orders in the 2021 judgment to be executed.
Justice Adah held that it was wrong for Njoku to have gone before the lower court to seek enforcement in a judgment that had nothing to be enforced as no executory reliefs were granted.
The judge advised judges of the lower courts to be cautious, noting that the judges of the trial court and the Court of Appeal, who declared Njoku as the APGA chairman were wrong to have heard his (Njoku’s) suit.
He proceeded to set aside the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal in Abuja on June 28, 2024, which affirmed the judgment of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, in Abuja, declaring Njoku as the APGA chairman.
The judgment in both appeals was applied to the third appeal, relating to the same issue of APGA leadership.
However. the Supreme Court held that its earlier judgment in the appeal marked: SC/CV/687/2021, delivered on October 14, 2021, which was corrected on March 24, 2023, and on which Njoku purportedly relied to lay claim to the party’s chairmanship, did not confer on him any enforceable rights.
The court awarded N20 million on each appeal against two members of the Njoku-led faction — who are listed as the first and second respondents, bringing the total cost awarded in the three appeals to N60m.
Reacting to the judgments, Ezeokenwa commended the judiciary for effectively putting an end to the leadership dispute in the party and affirming him as the chairman.
