Mr Sly Ezeokenwa, the Anambra State Legal Adviser to the All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA) says there is no order of Supreme Court proclaiming `a stay of execution’, over, Aug. 16, 2017, Appeal Court decision.
The decision had affirmed Victor Ike Oye as the authentic National Chairman of the party.
Rumours had been rife in Awka that Martins Agbaso and his splinter group had obtained Supreme Court order for a stay of execution of Court of Appeal Judgement.
“The Supreme Court is on recess and will be resuming for a new legal year on or about the middle of September,’’ Ezeokenwa told newsmen in Awka on Sunday.
“There is nothing as `vacation panel’ constituted by the Supreme Court. And for the court to make an order, they will have to sit.
“Again, there has to be a motion for appeal at the Supreme Court. Even a motion for appeal, does not translate into a `stay of execution’,’’ he said,
“It is, therefore, wishful thinking for anybody in his right frame of mind to conceive of such a situation,’’ Ezeokenwa said.
Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, who is one of the leading counsels on the matter said in an interview that as far as they were concerned the Supreme Court in on recess. “the court has not made such an order.
“There is no way the court can grant such a motion without putting the opposing party on notice. It should be treated as a rumour that it is. We have not been served anything.
“The rumour may have been concocted to destabilise the ficle-minded. The Supreme Court will resume on or about Sept. 21, 2017.”
The special Appeal Court panel of three judges’ led by Justice Abdul Aboki in their Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017 judgement at Enugu dismissed the order of the lower court for want of jurisdiction.
The orders of a lower court granted vide `an order of Mandamus’ had given Agbaso the rights to illegally assume the leadership of APGA.
He had purportedly claimed to be effecting a change in leadership as directed by the Central Working Committee (CWC) for removal of Oye as the party’s National Chairman by his splinter group.
But the Appeal Court in its judgment resolved all issues in the appeal in favour of Oye and struck out the suit, saying it was wrong not to have joined a fellow directly affected by an action.
The special panel comprised Justice Abdul Aboki, (Presiding), Justice Bolaji Yesuf and Justice Ibrahim Shatta Bdlya.
The matter had arisen when Mike Alioke, an Enugu State Secretary of APGA obtained an order from an Enugu High Court to compel Oye to vacate his seat as the National Chairman of the party.
Oye, then sought to be joined in the suits, in order to be in a position to challenge what he claimed was an illegal decision by the Enugu High Court presided over by Justice A.R. Ozoemena; but the court had refused, prompting Oye to appeal at a higher court.
