By Emmanuel Oloniruha
The National Chairman of National Rescue Movement (NRM), Dr Chinedu Obi, says Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is in full compliance with all judicial rulings concerning the party’s leadership crisis.
Obi, at a news conference at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday, dismissed claims of a breach by INEC as “blackmail” by those he called “serial forum shoppers.”
He condemned any attempt to unlawfully hijack the party’s leadership through the courts, maintaining that INEC had remained professionally aligned with the rule of law.
“INEC is fully in compliance with the judgment of the Federal High Court. The party dissociates itself from allegations of non-compliance being circulated by mischief makers,” Obi said.
He traced the crisis within the party to September 2024 when a former chairman, Isaac Udeh, was suspended for alleged anti-party activities.
Obi alleged that Udeh subsequently conspired with Mr Edozie Njoku, a former factional chairman of APGA, to destabilise NRM despite Njoku’s removal from APGA by the Supreme Court.
He said the duo attempted an unauthorised “Emergency National Convention” on Jan. 17, 2025 which INEC declined to monitor for failing to meet constitutional guidelines.
“In compliance with a subsequent court order, the party notified INEC of its valid convention held on April 14, 2025 which the commission monitored and recognised,” he explained.
Obi argued that Njoku was constitutionally ineligible to lead NRM, as he was still parading himself as APGA chairman as recent as November 2024 and had not been granted a membership waiver by NRM.
He commended INEC’s Election and Party Monitoring (EPM) department for resisting intimidation and expressed confidence in the new INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan.
He said that the party was aware that Njoku and his team instituted contempt proceedings against the former INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, claiming disobedience of a court order.
“We understand that the immediate past chairman of the commission firmly resisted this intimidation and robustly defended the institutional integrity of INEC.
“Fortunately, the new INEC chairman is a man of integrity and cannot be intimidated by resurrected contempt proceedings,” he said.
Obi urged the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to caution judicial officers against litigants boasting of influence over the courts.
Responding to questions on the new Electoral Act, Obi expressed concern over provisions compelling parties to use consensus or direct primaries for candidate selection.
On the requirement to submit a membership register for the 2027 elections, Obi said that NRM had already digitized its register.
“NRM is one of the parties to carry out digital registration. We are currently meeting with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) to harmonise a position on the new Act,” he said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)