Disquiet in NRM as ex-APGA chieftain becomes national chairman

Edozie Njoku, a former national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), has been sworn in as chairman of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).

Njoku, who lost his bid at the supreme court in November 2024 to be recognised at the authentic chairman of APGA, was sworn in as the NRM chairman on Tuesday in a ceremony in Abuja.

Issac Udeh, former NRM chairman, had handed over the party to the former APGA chairman after a deal was struck, it was learnt.

The specifics of the agreement remain unknown, but Udeh wrote to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) requesting an emergency elective convention – a request the electoral body denied, according to a document seen by TheCable.

Addressing a press conference, Saidu Dansadau, founding chairman of the NRM, while protesting the development, said Njoku took over the party through the backdoor as he is not a registered member of the party.

The former senator said there should be laws to punish people who go to destabilise political parties.

“Until we have such laws in place, someone like Edozie Njoku will continue to perpetrate crises in several political parties that he was never a member of,” he said.

“These fraudulent politicians keep on playing with the rule of law, the Nigerian systems.

“Recently, the supreme court made a judgement in respect of the factions in APGA and they made judgement rightly in favour of the faction of the governor of Anambra state.

“The person that lost out has now so to say through the back door penetrated into our party, the National Rescue Movement, in order to create another faction which is illegal in so many respects. Number one, he is not a registered member of the NRM, not to talk of contesting for any position.

“The chairman of the party with whom they struck a deal brought a letter to INEC that they want to do a convention and INEC rejected that it is illegal. It is illegal because you have not held NEC meeting [for that to take place].”

Dansadau said Udeh does not have the powers to impose a chairman on the NRM.

Meanwhile, Njoku promised “to ensure that this party is repositioned to the height that is required of it to win elections in this country”.