Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately recognise the Chief Edozie Njoku-led National Executive Committee of the National Rescue Movement (NRM) that emerged from the party’s emergency national convention held in Abuja on 17 January 2025.
The emergency national convention was held to fill vacant positions in the party’s National Executive Committee.
The party hierarchy stated that the convention became imperative to address what it called “lopsidedness in its composition” to accord a national outlook and spread to the party.
After the emergency national convention, Chief Edozie Njoku emerged as NRM’s National Chairman. Since the convention was held, INEC refused to accept the outcome of the convention on the grounds that it did not monitor the exercise, a position Justice Obiora Egwuatu faulted in a judgment delivered on Wednesday.
In the judgment in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/45/2025 filed by the NRM, with INEC as the sole respondent, Justice Egwuatu held that there was evidence that NRM served on INEC a valid notice of its emergency national convention and that it was wrong for the electoral body to have refused to monitor the exercise as the law mandates it to do.
The judge further held that the notice from the NRM, not being short of the required 21 days, INEC had no reason not to have monitored the emergency convention and held that he was convinced that the NRM effectively made out a case to warrant the grant of the reliefs sought.
Justice Egwuatu declared that, pursuant to the provisions of Sections 82(1) and 83(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, the respondent is under a constitutional obligation to accept and monitor the emergency convention of the applicant (NRM) to fill vacancies and correct lopsidedness in its National Executive Committee (NEC).
He also declared that the failure of the respondent (INEC) to accept and monitor the emergency convention of the applicant to fill vacancies and correct lopsidedness in its NEC amounted to a refusal/failure to discharge its constitutional and/or public duty contrary to the provisions of Sections 82(1) and 83(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022 and therefore unconstitutional and unlawful.
The judge proceeded to issue an order of mandamus compelling INEC “to accept and monitor the emergency convention of the applicant to fill vacancies and correct lopsidedness in its NEC and recognise the decision or outcome of the convention.”
Reacting to the judgment, NRM National Chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku, urged INEC to graciously obey the court order.
“Today, it has been made abundantly clear to INEC that everything that came out of our emergency national convention held on 17 January, both Constitutional amendment is legal and binding on INEC.
“We are appealing to INEC to please, accept the order of mandamus imposed on them by the court that they should accept our leadership immediately.
“There are a lot of bye-elections that will come up very soon and an election in Anambra. So, we are asking INEC to please, put everything behind them and give us an equal playing ground so that we can go into the election and see how we can save the party from going backward.
“NRM has before now, been going backward, and now, we want it to go forward to start building our structures.
“We are begging INEC to please, not to take it personally. It is an order of court compelling them to recognise us instantly,” Chief Njoku told newsmen after the judgement.
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