16th February, 2021
By Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Members of the faction of All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers loyal to Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation have applauded the Supreme Court for throwing out the case filed by Igo Aguma over the Chairmanship of the party’s Caretaker Committee in the state.
Aguma, a is a member of a faction of the party loyal to Senator Magnus Abe had challenged the appointment of Isaac Abott Ogbobula, a member of the Amaechi faction as the Caretaker Committee of Rivers APC by the National Secretariat of the party.
Reacting to the judgment, spokesman of Amaechi’s faction of the party, Chief Ogbonna Nwuke said the ruling of the apex court has shown that the Abe faction of the party did not have any basis for laying claim to the chairmanship of the party in the first place.
“The truth has come to light. The truth is that Hon Igo Aguma did not have the locus standi to declare himself as Chairman. It also demonstrates that the presiding Judge who planted Igo Aguma as Chairman of the Caretaker Committee erred in law in reaching that decision.
Nwuke also said with the ruling of the apex court, an end has come to Aguma’s reliance on manipulation of the law in his quest for power with the judgment.
“We have always known that Igo Aguma and his co-travelers were out to waste the time of the court.
“We are glad that the Supreme Court has seen through the antics of the Pro-Abe group and accordingly thrown out the matter.
“The APC National Secretariat acted well within its powers when it appointed the Caretaker Committee headed by Isaac Abott Ogbobula.
“It is now clear to all that the Port Harcourt High Court presided over by Justice George Omereji, (now retired), erred in law when it introduced a meddlesome interloper in the person of Hon. Igo Aguma as the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the Rivers APC in total disregard of the provisions of the party’s Constitution which bestows that right exclusively on the National Secretariat.
“We hope that Hon. Golden Ben Chioma who is masquerading as a chairman or acting chairman would get the message. He came with Igo Aguma. He should quietly pack up his bags and leave now that the head of the hydra-headed snake has been cut off.
“On the whole, it is a bright new day for the Rivers APC and a positive indication that better days are coming”, the statement concluded.
However, Livingstone Wechie, the media adviser to Aguma, said what happened at the apex court was that the request of his boss to withdraw his earliest appeal on the grounds that it has become statute barred being a pre-election matter was granted.
He noted that the lawyer to the appellant had two motions. The first of the two being a motion on notice seeking a stay of further proceedings at the lower Court filed on July 15, 2020 and the second was a motion seeking to serve the first respondent by means of substituted service.
According to the statement, the lawyer announced that the two applications had been overtaken by events hence his application to withdraw them and they were struck out accordingly by the Supreme Court.