The National Rescue Movement (NRM) has condemned what it calls a misinformation campaign by a former factional chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Edozie Njoku, accusing him of attempting to hijack the leadership of NRM through inappropriate means.
Addressing journalists at a press conference held at the party’s national secretariat in Garki, Abuja, the national chairman of the NRM, Prince Chinedu Obi, said the party was compelled to clear the air on Democracy Day, following recent misleading claims made by Njoku.
Obi stated that Njoku, who was sacked by the Supreme Court from APGA leadership, had since January 2025 begun parading himself as the chairman of NRM — a position he claimed through a “purported emergency convention” not sanctioned by any legitimate organ of the party nor monitored by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“This convention was neither approved by our National Executive Committee nor attended by any genuine officer of the party,” Obi said. “It was a unilateral action orchestrated in collaboration with the expelled former National Chairman, Mr. Isaac Chigozie Udeh, and without INEC’s presence.”
Obi noted that Njoku’s attempt to obtain legal backing for his claim failed when Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, after initially granting leave for a motion, did not issue any substantive order mandating INEC to recognise the January 17 convention.
Instead, Obi clarified that the court’s final ruling on March 5, 2025, only mandated INEC to monitor and recognize a legitimate convention, which the party later held on April 14, 2025.
INEC, he said, fully monitored the April convention, during which elections were conducted into the National Executive Committee. The electoral commission has since recognised the outcome of that convention — including the emergence of Hon. Christy Ndidi Olieh as the party’s candidate for Anambra, thereby affirming its recognition of the party’s lawful leadership.
“The judgment conferred no substantive right on Chief Edozie Njoku or anyone at all,” Obi emphasized. “The Commission cannot be forced to monitor a convention that had already taken place prior to the court’s order.”
The NRM chairman further revealed that the party has instructed its lawyers to formally notify INEC of Njoku’s continued impersonation and to urge the Commission to disregard any correspondence from him. He accused Njoku of engaging in “forum shopping” — a practice the Supreme Court had earlier condemned during his failed bid to lead APGA.
“We dissociate ourselves entirely from his actions. Edozie Njoku is not a member of the NRM, much less its national chairman,” Obi said. “His actions are an affront to internal party democracy and a dangerous attempt to mislead the judiciary.”
Obi also announced that the party will submit a petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, urging greater vigilance among trial court judges, whom he warned to beware of “mischievous litigants” seeking to undermine judicial integrity.
The NRM praised INEC for upholding due process and the rule of law and encouraged the media to adopt investigative reporting to expose those attempting to derail democratic governance in Nigeria.
“On this Democracy Day, while we pay tribute to those who fought for our democratic freedoms, we also call on Nigerians to reject anti-democratic elements masquerading as leaders,” Obi concluded.
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