APGA chair to members: Put differences aside, let’s rebuild our party

Edozie Njoku, national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has asked members to shun division and work for the party’s interest.

On Friday, March 24, Njoku was reinstated as the party chairman by the supreme court after a four-year leadership crisis.

In October 2021, the supreme court affirmed an appeal court judgment recognising Victor Oye as the national chairman of the party.

Following protests that trailed the judgment, the supreme court said Njoku was not a party to the judgment delivered in October 2021.

Speaking on Thursday at a press conference in Abuja, Njoku said party members need to sheathe their swords after the supreme court judgement.

He asked members to be united ahead of the off-circle elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi.

“APGA needs to reconcile. There are three elections coming. The timetable will be out tomorrow and we are going to work hard to get our party together in the shortest period of time,” Njoku said.

“I call on chief Victor Oye and all the former members of national working committee (NWC). I call on all the people in the wards, I call on all the people in the local governments — let us unite and move this beautiful party forward.

“APGA is been very fortunate to have four different governors, tonnes of members of the house of representatives and state house of assembly, and a few senators.

“We, in APGA, should be more conscious of the people that voted us in. They are very disappointed at the moment, we need to address that.

“We need to put all these aside and please rebuild the party. I and the NWC will go into a meeting in the next few days and we will come out with some policy statements in certain areas.”

Njoku said he would follow the “right channel” to resume duties at the national secretariat of the party, adding that the certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment that restored him as the chairman would be served to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“There is always a process to things. A judgment came out yesterday, the certified true copy came out literally today,” he said.

“If you are going to the police, you have to serve them. If INEC is going to respond to you, you have to serve them. They have to read it to respond.

“Supreme court has given us a major ammunition. INEC has said we should send the copy and they will respond.

“I have had calls to take thugs and policemen to go and invade the party office but I will not operate that level of gutter, things will be done properly.”