From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Internal wranglings have become a common occurrence in any organisation be it a company or a political party and the National Rescue Mission (NRM) is not immune from it. After all, in politics, “there are no permanent friends or permanent enemies, just permanent interest.”
Currently, a faction of the NRM is kicking over the emergence of Chief Edozie Njoku, a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as the new National Chairman of the party.
With the support of the acting National Secretary of the party, Mr. Obidike Okolo, the warring members are questioning the process that produced Njoku as the new National Chairman of the party. Like others, Senator Saidu Dansadau, who is the founding chairman of NRM, is also querying Njoku’s emergence, saying he was never a member of the party and therefore, could not have attained the position of its National Chairman.
He added that INEC in a letter to the party dated January 10, 2025, signed by the acting Secretary to the commission, Mallam Haliru Aminu, and addressed to the National Chairman of NRM, indicated that only the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) has the legitimate right to call for a party convention, pointing out that this is in accordance with the provision of Article 8.1.2 (a-c) of the party’s constitution, which stipulates that no convention should be entertained by any person other than the NEC of the party, contrary to what Edozie Njoku and others proclaimed.
Daily Sun gathered that the opposition to Njoku’s emergence came shortly afte the northern caucus of the party led by Mr. Iliyasu Adamu registered their support for him.
At a press briefing in Abuja, Adamu said the group accepts the outcome of the emergency national convention of the party held on January 17. He said members resolved to back Njoku after reviewing “the unnecessary and avoidable dissention arising from the just-concluded national emergency convention of the party.”
The group comprises of the 19 Northern states chairmen, secretaries, members of the National Working Committee (NWC) and stakeholders of NRM.
Adamu, while reading the communique issued at the end of the northern caucus meeting which was endorsed by 17 party officials, said the emergency national convention was properly convened in line with the constitution of the party.
Speaking at the emergency national convention of the party, the immediate past National Chairman of the party, Ambassador Isaac Chigozie Udeh said the emergence of Chief Njoku as the new National Chairman of NRM at an emergency national convention of the party in Abuja on January 17, 2025, was lawful, historic, thoughtful and strategic to address the issue of lopsidedness in the composition of the party’s National Management Committee (NMC).
Udeh who stepped down to become the National Organising Secretary of the party said he had to make the personal sacrifice in order to lift the party to greater heights, just as he described his stepping down for Njoku as a “huge sacrifice which every Nigerian should emulate.” He added that after all, God sacrificed his only son for the good of humanity.
“What I have done is to make NRM to be the third force in this country as you can see what happened to NRM today is just a typical example of what will happen in NRM in the nearest future”, he said.
Indeed, his emergence was as result of a successful political marriage between the NRM and former members of APGA who were displaced by the November 7, 2024 judgment of the Supreme Court.
According to the former NRM National Chairman, Udeh, who voluntarily stepped down for Njoku at the emergency convention, “On Monday December 2, 2024, in our usual National Management Committee (NMC) meetings, I brought to the attention of all the NMC members the proposal for a fusion between our party and members of APGA displaced by the Supreme Court judgment of November 7, 2024.
“The proposed fusion was heartily welcomed and agreed upon by members. Immediately, the NMC raised a five-man committee with Mr. Obadike Okolo, the acting national Secretary, as the chairman and four others: Mr. Shedrack Ukah (Secretary); Mr. Olusola Afuye (of blessed memory); Mr. Hassan Aminu and Dr. Mustapha Umar Kumshe. The committee met three times with the APGA delegation and two major points were finally raised that all APGA members joining the party should be registered.
“The APGA members agreed, but resolved that they needed to go to their individual wards and resign from APGA, and within a week, they lawfully registered as members of NRM.
“As the National Chairman of the Party, I made it clear to the NRM five-man Committee that the issue of the lopsidedness in the composition of the National Management Committee (NMC) of the party needed to be addressed. It was on this note that I informed them of my intention to step down as the National Chairman of the Party and that an Emergency National Convention is needed to cure these defects in the party. The committee happily and gladly accepted this proposal, bearing in mind that some of them have been working tirelessly to remove me as the National Chairman of the Party.”
Speaking further, the now Organising Secretary said the committee reported back to him on December 9, 2024, and all the members of the committee agreed to the fusion and the Emergency National Convention.
He further said that the “only dissenting voice was Obidike Okolo who made his opinion clear that the National Chairman and the National Secretary can come from the same zone. It was now agreed that a quick date of January 13, 2025 be scheduled for the Emergency National Convention and that all statutory delegates, states chairmen and secretaries be informed of this date”.
He noted that they all agreed that a letter be immediately drafted for the signatures of the National Chairman and the National Secretary for the scheduled Emergency National Convention of January 13, 2025. He said after the letter was drafted and signed by the National Chairman they started waiting for the signature of the acting National Secretary.
“Two days went by and no response from the acting National Secretary. Suddenly, we started getting information from delegates that the acting National Secretary had decided that he will not just lose his position and that there is no harm in him acting as the National Secretary to any new National Chairman irrespective of the zone.
“Mr. Obidike’s refusal to sign the letter irritated the Executive Committee members and others that came on my invitation to the national secretariat and they all gave me the go ahead to sign the notice to INEC, bearing in mind that there is a subsisting judgement at the Court of Appeal, Abuja division, which empowers me to sign any notice to INEC independently.
“It is truly remarkable and instructive to see that the letters dated November 19, 2024 and December 3, 2024 were signed by Mr. Obidike Okolo, as the acting National Secretary and myself as the National Chainman of the Party. It is funny and mischievous to finally hear the so-called acting National Secretary saying that I was suspended on the September 19, 2024. I wonder how he could have been signing a letter with a man he claims was suspended from the Party”, Udeh added.
In a letter to INEC Chairman, dated January 14, 2025, with the title: “Re: 21 Days’ notice for our party’s emergency convention slated for January 13, 2025,” Udeh noted that in the course of sending out official notice for the INEC verification exercise, the party used the opportunity to invite all members of the executives, statutory delegates, delegates, including state party chairmen and secretaries.
And that when the date of the emergency national convention was moved from January 13, 2025 to January 17, 2025, the party issued a notification to all the delegates through a publication in a national daily on January 11, 2025, adding that the essence was to use the opportunity provided by the INEC verification exercise to meet with them and take decisions about the proposed fusion between our party and the APGA group
The party’s Executive Committee, he noted, overwhelmingly approved the fusion and the emergency national convention which will address the defects in the party, and that the actions were in compliance with Article 8.1.2 (a) of the party’s constitution which states that; “without prejudice to the above provisions, the Executive Committee may summon an emergency meeting of the national convention or congress at any time provided at least seven (7) days notice of meeting is given to all accredited delegates.”
But that after signing the letter, Obidike Okolo, the acting National Secretary refused to abide by the decision of the Executive Committee saying that he would only sign the 21 days’ mandatory notification letter if he is guaranteed the position of the party’s National Secretary irrespective of whichever zone produced the new National Chairman.
Udeh noted that Okolo’s refusal to sign the 21 days’ mandatory notification letter as approved by the Executive Committee of the party has direct consequences as stated in Article 9.2.(a); (c); (d); (f); (g); (h) and (n) of the party constitution. For instance, going by Article 9.3.(I), Mr. Obadike’s action is considered an act of sabotage or an attempt to hold the party hostage which has dire consequences.
Despite these unconstitutional behaviour by Mr. Obadike, Udeh said the party in its magnanimity ignored them, in order not to disrupt the flow of activities and preparations for the emergency national convention, and relied on the subsisting judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which gave him the power to sign statutory notices independently.
Regardless, the new National Chairman of the party, Chief Edozie Njoku has promised to reposition and transform the party into a formidable platform with a strong force to contest, win elections and rescue Nigeria from bad democratic governance.
While appealing for unity and cooperation among party members shortly after his inauguration on January 21, 2025, Njoku expressed his readiness to take the party to a level that would be accepted by all Nigerians through their support and cooperation.
