A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has nullified the sacking of the Emeka Beke-led executive of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State.
The Court presided over by Justice Sika Aprioku, on Monday afternoon ruled that the National Working Committee of the APC erred in dissolving an elected executive led by Emeka Beke.
Justice Aprioku stated that the APC NWC does not have the power to dissolve an elected executive of a state nor set up a caretaker committee when the tenure of the elected executive is still running.
The Court therefore sacked the Caretaker Committee, CTC, of the party in the State led by Chief Tony Okocha and reinstated the Emeka Beke-led executive.
Justice Aprioku further barred Tony Okocha and members of the CTC from further parading as executives of the APC in Rivers State.
The court slammed the Independent National Electoral Commission for supporting the dissolution of democratically elected executive members of the APC throughout the suit.
READ ALSO: Explosion rocks APP secretariat in Rivers States
The judge cautioned that leaders of political parties must learn to obey their constitution and stop acting recklessly in managing their party.
Justice Aprioku held that the National Working Committee of APC failed to prove its actions, which he ruled violated their party and the Nigerian Constitution.
The judge insisted that they relied on hearsay allegation of anti-party activities which was not demonstrated by the defendants in the suit.
The judge dismissed preliminary objections by the defendants on the issue of justification and application for joinder by a set of individuals, who had earlier sought to join the suit.
He further held that the national leadership of APC disobeyed its own constitution by not giving a fair hearing to elected party executive members and awarded N300,000 as cost in favour of the Beke-led leadership of the APC.
Justice Aprioku held that the APC could not benefit from its illegality and declared the inauguration of a seven-man caretaker committee of APC led by Okocha as null and void and of no effect.
Credible News.ng
