NIGERIA (Abuja)- Chief Maxi Okwu has been declared the legitimate Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) by the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.

In a judgement delivered by Justice Abdulkadir Abdul-Kafarati, Chief Victor Umeh, along with the National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Sani Shinkafi and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC), elected at a convention held on February 18, 2011 in Awka Anambra State, were asked to vacate their respective offices with immediate effect.

 Aside Okwu, the court also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) eto henceforth relate with Mr. Ibrahim Carefor, Chief Dickson Ogu, Dr. Gbenga Afeni and Alhaji Abubakar Adamu as the duly elected national officers of APGA. They all emerged from a separate convention of the party that also held in Awka on April 8, 2013.

Justice Kafarati said: “Umeh and Shinkafi (1st and 2nd defendants), having been expelled from the party whether lawfully or unlawfully, regularly or irregularly, cannot validly continue to occupy the positions of National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively when the suit they filed challenging their said expulsion has not been decided and in their favour.”

He maintained that “the 2nd Defendant, having first been elected National Secretary of the party on January 10, 2003, which is over 10 years ago, cannot validly continue in office 10 years after he was first elected when by Article 18(2) of the Constitution of the party, any official of the party can only stay in office for a maximum of two terms of four years each.”

The judge equally noted that both the defendants were voted into office by voice votes rather than secret ballot as stipulated by the Constitution of APGA, a process he said, invalidated their emergence as valid national officers of the party.

Meanwhile, the Umeh-led faction of the party has dragged the matter before the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja, alleging that the trial judge engaged in acts of judicial rascality.