Again, court sacks Umeh as APGA chairman
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday sacked the national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh and its secretary, Sani Shinkafi from office.
A chieftain of the party, Chief Maxi Okwu had dragged Umeh, Shinkafi and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ) before the court challenging their continuous stay in office beyond what the constitution of the party provided for.
The secretary in reaction, said the judgment was a fraud and that it would be challenged in the higher court. Sanni who was reacting to the judgment said it was judicial rascality adding that the Court of Appeal had earlier upheld the election of Umeh as the chairman.
In his judgment, Justice Abdul Kafarati held that the plaintiff has a locus standi, going by the affidavit in support of the originating summons to institute the suit as against the objection brought by the defendants challenging the legal interest of Okwu in instituting the suit. The court further held that every member has a duty to abide by the constitution of the party and that in any instance where the constitution is breached, the court would have jurisdiction to come in.
Justice Kafarati however made a declaration that second respondent who had been in office for over 10 years cannot validly continue in office ten years after he was first elected. The court cited Article 18(2) of the Constitution of the party which provides that any official of the party can only stay in office for a maximum of two terms of four years. The court further held that the 1st and 2nd respondents having been voted into office by voice votes rather than secret ballots as stipulated by Article 18(3) of the Constitution of APGA were not validly elected. In the circumstance, the court ordered both Umeh and Shinkafi to vacate their respective offices of National Chairman and Secretary.
Reacting to the judgement, Victor Umeh said,”The judgment of Justice Kafarati did not come to us as a surprise because the judgment was supposed to have been delivered on February 7,so the sudden change of date was obviously to ambush the programmes of APGA and enable the other side pursue their case at the election tribunal at Awka but clearly the judgment was delivered without jurisdiction. “The judgment is an attempt to execute the judgment of the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innicent Umezulike, so it was that convention that purportedly conducted that the judge relied on to make Maxi Okwu, Justice Kafarati was gravely in error, so there is nothing to worry about, the convention has no foundation, and the said convention relied on by the court has been set aside by the Court of Appeal, we have an application for a stay, notice of appeal including we are unruffled by the judgment because we know that the court of appeal will at all times protect its judgment.