Maduako Igbokwe l Wednesday, March 29, 2023
AWKA, Nigeria – Anambra State Chairman of the All Progressive Congress APC, Hon. Sir Basil Ejidike (Ikwelle Nnabuenyi) has extended an olive branch to aggrieved parties in the state to join hands with the State Working Committee to work towards the emergence of an APC Governor in Anambra State comes 2025.
Ejidike made the appeal following an Anambra state high court reaffirming his state working committee as duly elected
Anambra State High Court, sitting in Awka had on Tuesday dismissed a suit jointly filed by the former State Chairman Mr. Emeka Ibeh, former secretary Mr. Chukwuma Agufugo, and the former publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Okelo Madukaife seeking the nullification of Hon Sir. Basil Ejidike-led State Working Committee .
According to Ejidike,”We can only hope that this time around they will see reason to embrace peace and unity as the State Executive Committee is ever ready to work with them believing in their readiness to give Ndi Anambra an APC Governor come 2025″
Ruling on the matter, the Presiding Judge, Justice Ike Ogu of Awka High Court I said the plaintiffs’ suit seeking to void the party’s election lacked merit in the first instance, as the Appeal Court judgement on the case still subsists.
The Court, therefore affirmed Sir Basil Ejidike-led State Executive Committee of the Party as the authentic and substantive Leadership of the All Progressives Congress in Anambra State.
The plaintiffs, Emeka Ibe, Chukwuma Agufugo, Okelo Madukaife and others in the party have been in different courts in the last fifteen months seeking for an injunctions to dislodge the validly elected Chairman of the APC in Anambra State, Hon. Sir Basil Ejidike and other members of State Executive Committee .
The state executive of the party emerged through a Congress held in January 2022. According to him, the judgment what was sought by the plaintiffs have been overtaken by events.
An Appeal Court sitting in Awka had on February 22nd 2023 dismissed the judgement of the State High Court nullifying the State Congress of the APC in Anambra State. The appeal court in a judgment restored the four-year mandate of the Chief Basil Ejidike-led State Working Committee down to the Ward Excos of the party.
“This latest verdict of the High Court has put paid their desperation to sneak back to office by causing havoc in the Anambra State chapter of the APC.
“These desperate insurrectionists were surreptitiously seeking a bizarre tenure elongation by clinging on a 2018 Congress whose mandate should have expired in August 2022 even if the APC National Executive Committee had not dissolved the entire structure of the party from the National to the ward level on 8th December, 2020.
“They have refused to acknowledge the reality that the APC in Anambra State and indeed nationwide have moved past the product of the 2018 Congresses. A new mandate was donated to the ward, local government, zonal and State officials of the party in Anambra State in January 2022 after the conclusion of the Governorship election in Anambra State.
“This is the only legal mandate in existence and no amount of judicial voyage by these fifth columnists can change the present circumstance”, he said.
