Matilda Omonaiye/
The leadership crisis rocking the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) deepened on Friday after the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt upheld a High Court judgment nullifying the ward, local government and state congresses that produced Chief Tony Okocha and members of his executive council.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Elfreida Williams-Dawodu, the appellate court dismissed an appeal filed by Okocha’s faction and affirmed the earlier ruling of the Rivers State High Court, which had declared the congresses invalid.
The court held that the appeal was incompetent and struck it out, effectively leaving the lower court’s decision intact.
The dispute stems from congresses conducted by the APC in Rivers State in December 2024.
Before the exercises were held, Justice Godswill Obomanu of the Rivers State High Court had issued an order restraining the party from proceeding with the congresses pending the determination of a suit before the court.
Despite the order, the party went ahead with the congresses, which resulted in Okocha’s emergence as state chairman alongside other officials.
Subsequently, the High Court nullified the exercises, ruling that they were conducted in defiance of a valid court order.
The judgment rendered the congresses and the leadership structure that emerged from them null and void.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Okocha and members of his executive approached the Court of Appeal, arguing that the High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter and should not have issued the restraining order in the first place.
However, the appellate court rejected those arguments and upheld the nullification.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the faction aligned with Chief Emeka Beke, Mr Emenike Ebete, described the ruling as a significant victory for his clients.
He said the Court of Appeal’s decision means that the order nullifying the congresses remains valid and enforceable.
According to him, the judgment confirms that the congresses were conducted in violation of an existing court order.
The latest ruling is expected to have far-reaching consequences for the APC in Rivers State, as it could raise questions over actions, communications and decisions taken in the name of the party by that leadership since the High Court’s original ruling in December 2024.
The verdict also represents another chapter in the prolonged struggle for control of the APC structure in Rivers State, where rival factions loyal to Okocha and Beke have been engaged in a series of legal and political battles.
The dispute has generated conflicting court interpretations and competing claims to legitimacy over the past two years.
However, the Okocha camp has signalled that the legal battle may not yet be over.
In a statement issued shortly after Friday’s judgment, the faction’s spokesman, Chibike Ikenga, said the group had applied for the Certified True Copy of the judgment and would study its contents before determining its next course of action.
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