The reinstated leadership of the All-Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State has declared all nominations made during the party’s recently concluded primaries in the state null and void.
The primaries produced Kingsley Chinda, an ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, as the party’s governorship candidate following the withdrawal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara according to Daily Trust.
Other allies of the minister also emerged as candidates for the 2027 National Assembly and State Assembly elections under the APC platform.
Justice Elfreida Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division on Friday upheld the decision of the Rivers State High Court nullifying the congresses that produced Chief Tony Okocha as APC chairman in the state.
In a statement issued on Monday, Darlington Nwauju, spokesman for the reinstated faction led by Chief Emeka Beke, said that based on the judgment, all nominations, representations, communications, documentation, and decisions made on behalf of the Rivers State chapter of the APC between December 20, 2024, and May 29, 2026, have no legal effect.
He also urged the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, to withdraw the Certificates of Return issued to candidates from Okocha’s faction following last year’s local government elections in the state and present them to candidates of his faction in line with the Court of Appeal judgment.
The candidates produced by Okocha’s faction are currently administering the affairs of the local government councils in the state.
Nwauju said: “Recall that Justice Obomanu courageously acted in defence of the dignity of the court and the sanctity of the rule of law by asserting the disciplinary authority of the court in annulling all congresses purportedly conducted in Rivers State by Alhaji Ganduje in flagrant disobedience of a valid court order.
“As it stands today, only a higher court can set aside Justice Obomanu’s order, which the Court of Appeal ruling delivered by Justice Elfreida Williams-Dawodu has rightfully sustained.
“For posterity’s sake, there are only two possible scenarios that can play out: the court orders fresh congresses in Rivers State to mitigate the injuries suffered by the plaintiffs in Suit No. PHC/3859/CS/2024; or the court finds no injury in the actions of the APC and rejects the plaintiffs’ prayers.
“Whichever option the court chooses, one thing remains constant: the congresses of November 23 and November 30, 2024, have been buried.
“What then are the consequences of the May 29, 2026, ruling for the APC in Rivers State?
“Our friends laying claim to the leadership of the party were neither elected executives of the party, based on Justice Obomanu’s December 20, 2024, ruling, nor caretaker committee members of the APC, based on Justice Aprioku’s August 12, 2024, judgment annulling that arrangement and restoring Chief Emeka Beke’s leadership. Therefore, they had no right to represent the party in any capacity.
“The Rivers State chapter of our party has increasingly become an exclusive political association where founding members, including a former state party chairman, a former presidential aspirant and financier of the party, a serving female senator, and serving members of the House of Representatives including the only APC candidate who won election for us in 2023 can be controversially disqualified from participating in party primaries on frivolous grounds.
Also Read: Court upholds sack of Okocha’s APC executive in Rivers
“Those bent on destroying the foundation of the APC in Rivers State and giving it a strange baptismal name are doing so recklessly and unlawfully, with malicious intent to lead the party down an irredeemable path.
“If all of us agree to return this matter to the High Court and start afresh, the congresses have already been dismantled and buried. As the APC was told by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on February 12, 2019, for disobeying the order issued by Justice Chiwendu Nworgu of the Rivers State High Court, ‘you cannot benefit from your stupidity.’
“All nominations, representations, communications, documentation, and decisions made on behalf of the Rivers State chapter of the APC between December 20, 2024, and May 29, 2026, bearing the seal or imprimatur of members of the illegal executive, their agents, assigns, or privies, are illegal, null, void, and of no effect for as long as the court orders remain in force.
“The nominations of candidates submitted to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, for the August 2025 local government elections on behalf of the Rivers APC were made by persons unknown to law and are therefore illegal.
“Consequently, all declarations and Certificates of Return issued in favour of the APC should be withdrawn and presented to the duly nominated chairmanship and vice-chairmanship candidates communicated to RSIEC on August 14, 2025, by the Chief Emeka Beke-led executive.
“All primaries conducted for the selection of candidates and flagbearers in the name of the APC in Rivers State should be immediately reviewed by the National Working Committee to avert a repeat of the APC’s experience in Zamfara State. Furthermore, all records of activities, including primaries and conventions in which the illegal executive or impersonators participated directly or indirectly, or contributed to declarations and returns on behalf of the APC, are null and void and should be expunged from the party’s records.”
DAILY TRUST
