IMO: THAT POST-HUMOUS JUDGEMENT BY SUPREME COURT ON CHAIRMANSHIP OF IMO APC …MEDICINE AFTER DEATH

…MACDONALD EBERE-LED EXCO REMAINS, NOT CONCERNED, NOT AFFECTED

By Ogu Bundu Nwadike, M.A

The newsphere of the mass media on “2022 Children’s Day” Friday, May 27, 2022 oozed of the judgement delivered by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on who, between Barr. Chief Marcellinus Nlemigbo and Mr. Daniel Nwafor, was the authentic State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State.

And, according to the Apex Court, Mr. Daniel Nwafor was the authentic State Chairman at the time of the robust legal brouhaha between the two that then represented the two subsisting factions of the party.

For honest and sincere pundits, the judgement was a post-humous conclusion to relatively protracted legal hostilities by two feuding people on behalf of their two feuding factions in the same political party.

In the 2018-2019 political period, when the struggle started in Imo APC, the then governor was the now embattled Owelle Rochas Okorocha.

In the same period under review, the National Chairman of APC was Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

In a particular showdown, Barr. Chief Marcellinus “Marcon” Nlemigbo emerged the State Chairman, while the faction led by Rochas, also known as “Agburu Confraternity” raised Mr. Daniel Nwafor as their Chairman.

As events unfolded, it was observed that while the Nlemigbo-led Imo APC occupied and operated from the Party State Secretariat on Okigwe Road, Owerri, the Nwafor-led faction inconsequentially operated from the Courts and anywhere else.

The hallmark of their inconsequentiality was the organization and execution of the 2019 general elections.

While the Nlemigbo-led Imo APC were in sync with the then APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole in the 2019 general elections, the Nwafor-led faction formed illicit merger/coalition with Action Alliance (AA) to realize what they unwisely sold as APC-AA Perfect Alliance, which turned out to be their Achilles Heels, Waterloo and Albatross combined in the 2019 governorship election.

While the Nlemigbo-led Imo APC went on to win the 2019 governorship election, Nwafor-led faction suffered loss, defeat and failure.

Meanwhile, the struggle for ownership and control of the soul of Imo APC was still raging in the Courts.

At a point, the the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of Mr. Daniel Nwafor, and Barr. Chief Marcel Nlemigbo appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court.

It was that appeal by Barr. Chief Marcon Nlemigbo that was vacated in favour of Mr. Daniel Nwafor on Friday, May 27, 2022, which was Children’s Day!

That’s why critical pundits regarded it as a post-humous judgement, because it was like campaigns after election. It was like an end of a long journey to a ceremony, in which the Guest Speaker arrived long after the ceremony had ended. Useless!

Like they say: “Everything that has a beginning must have an end”! So, the legal redress sought by Mr. Daniel Nwafor and Barr. Chief Marcellinus Nlemigbo, which began in 2018 finally ended in 2022!

The issues and matters arising from the Supreme Court judgement occupied a rather large number of social media users after the news was broken. There was confusion!

While some people rejoiced and celebrated the judgement as end of the road for the current Chairman of Imo APC, Hon. Dr. Macdonald Ebere with the State Executive Committee (SEC) and State Working Committee (SWC) that he leads, some people waved off the judgement as useless medicine after death.

Truth, however, is that the Supreme Court judgement that was in favour of Mr. Daniel Nwafor doesn’t in any way concern or affect the current Macdonald Ebere-led Imo APC.

The current Imo APC Exco at all levels were constituted by the legal instrumentality of the current constitution of the party and the current APC National Executive Committee (NEC) and National Working Committee (NWC) led by Senator Adamu Abdullahi.

The Ward, LGA and State Congresses of Imo APC were conducted by the APC NEC and NWC in 2021 to produce the current Exco at all levels in the State.

It’s a departure from the Nlemigbo-led Imo APC Exco and Nwafor-led pseudo faction that was in place during the NEC and NWC that was led by Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Old things have passed away!

The Executive Governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, who was promptly accosted by eagle-eyed newsmen and fielded questions on the development, was in his best elements to clarify on the actual facts of the judgement.

The governor’s interview also trended well on the social media. He summarily explained that the Supreme court judgement on Imo APC leadership didn’t have any consequential orders in relation to the current leadership of the party in the State.

Governor Uzodimma pointed out that Mr. Daniel Nwafor hasn’t any reason or need to attempt to enter the Party State Secretariat, because so doing would amount to illegality and would be handled by relevant authorities.

Speaking further, Governor Uzodimma reminded that in the matter between Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Majarfi of PDP in 2016-2017, the Supreme Court upheld that the decision of the National Convention stands and prevails.

The governor stated that by simple extrapolation, the Sherrif vs Makarfi case shared similarities with the Nlemigbo vs Nwafor case in Imo State.

He added that since the current primary elections towards the 2023 general elections were conducted by officials detailed from the National Secretariat, the was cause for alarm as everything is in good control.

Instructively, the Daniel Nwafor camp, which in effect is the Rochas camp, didn’t celebrate their victory in the Supreme Court, obviously because they knew that it was an inconsequential post-humous victory.

All the same, much as many people in authentic Imo APC saw the judgement as “good riddance to bad rubbish”, to some people, it was ultimately a victory for Imo APC, which has put behind every negative of the past.

Hence, the judgement is the consolidation and concretization of the new era in Imo APC. Forward ever, backwards never! To God be the glory!

By God’s grace, Imo State is being rehabilitated, reconstructed and recovered by Governor Uzodimma!

#HopeMediaR&D!