In a decisive ruling, the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice Sika Aprioku, has nullified the Caretaker Committee (CTC) of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Rivers State, led by Tony Okocha.
This committee had been inaugurated by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, but the court’s decision now reinstates the leadership of the party under Emeka Beke.
The case was brought before the court by several aggrieved party members, including Sam Etetegwung and Banarth Ezemoye, who challenged the suspension and removal of Beke’s leadership by the APC’s national leadership. The plaintiffs sought the reinstatement of the Beke-led executive, arguing that their removal was unlawful.
In delivering his ruling, Justice Aprioku issued a perpetual injunction against Okocha’s CTC, effectively preventing it from interfering with the operations of the Beke-led APC leadership.
The judge affirmed that Beke’s executive should continue in office for the remainder of their four-year term, stating, “the leadership of political parties must learn to obey their own constitution and stop acting recklessly and in impunity in managing their own party.”
Justice Aprioku criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for its support of the dissolution of the elected APC executive throughout the proceedings.
He emphasized the importance of adhering to the party’s constitution, highlighting that the APC’s National Working Committee had failed to provide adequate reasons or evidence to justify the removal of Beke’s leadership.
The judge insisted that the NWC’s actions were based on unsubstantiated allegations of anti-party activities, which were not proven in court.
Furthermore, Justice Aprioku dismissed preliminary objections raised by the defendants and ruled that the APC’s national leadership had violated the party’s constitution by not granting a fair hearing to the Beke-led executive. As a result, the court awarded N300,000 in costs to the Beke-led APC.
In response to the ruling, Tony Okocha, the embattled chairman of the APC’s CTC, announced his intention to challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
Okocha expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling, in a conversation with a journalist, claiming that it was influenced and did not come as a surprise. He stated, “We will challenge whatever they have done at the Court of Appeal. Thereafter they or us will go back to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court will decide. I want to tell members of the APC in Rivers State to remain focused and committed.”
Okocha also reiterated his claim that Justice Aprioku had been biased. “It didn’t sound like a surprise to us that the judge took that voyage to perdition.
“Don’t forget that in my press briefing in Abuja, I had alleged that Justice Sika Aprioku was contracted for a hatchet job against the APC, so are we not justified about what we said initially?” He said.
Despite the court’s ruling, Okocha asserted that he had been reappointed by the APC’s national leadership to continue overseeing the party’s affairs in the state.
He emphasized that neither he nor his colleagues had lobbied for their positions, claiming that the NWC had chosen them after determining that the Beke-led executive was involved in alleged anti-party activities.
“I didn’t lobby to be chairman of the caretaker committee, none of my members lobbied. I had a job.
“So the party in their wisdom decided to lay off an EXCO that has been proven to have been anti-the party in their activities, that’s how we emerged,” Okocha said.
He further assured his supporters that the matter was far from over and would likely be taken to the Supreme Court. “It is not a problem, it is a court of first instance, this matter may travel to the Supreme Court, so I want to say to you, be calm, don’t be in a hurry, be rest assured that we are equal to the task,” he added.
In contrast, Emeka Beke, the reinstated APC chairman, welcomed the court’s decision and thanked the judiciary for upholding justice in the party’s leadership dispute.
Beke described the ruling as a victory for democracy and a testament to the party’s commitment to the rule of law.
He expressed confidence that the National Chairman of the APC would respect the court’s judgment and hinted at plans for a stakeholders’ meeting to discuss the party’s future direction.
