A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has granted an order restraining the National Leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from conducting any congresses in the state. The order, issued by Justice Godwin O.Ollor, specifically bars the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar-Ganduje, and the Secretary, Surajudeen Ajibola-Basiru, from conducting ward, local government, and state congresses scheduled for October 11, 16, and 26, 2024.
The court’s decision comes after an ex-parte motion was filed by Peter Ohochukwu and Hajia Ndidi-Chukwuma, who are suing on behalf of the Chief Emeka Beke-led executives of the party in the state. The motion sought to restrain the defendants, including the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigerian Police, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), from conducting or supervising any elections to make up the Rivers State executive committee of the APC.
Justice Ollor’s ruling also restrained the national leadership of the party from suspending the Chief Emeka Beke-led executives, whose tenure is set to expire in 2025. The court’s order will subsist pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction, with the case adjourned to September 9, 2024.
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It is worth noting that this development is the latest in the ongoing leadership crisis within the Rivers State APC, which has seen the national leadership of the party attempt to dissolve the Chief Emeka Beke-led executive committee and replace it with a caretaker committee led by Tony Okocha. However, a previous court ruling had reinstated the Beke-led executive committee, and this latest decision further reinforces their position.
It bears mentioning that the APC in Rivers State has been embroiled in a bitter leadership dispute, with the national leadership of the party attempting to assert its authority over the state chapter. However, the courts have consistently ruled in favor of the Beke-led executive committee, leaving the national leadership’s plans in disarray.
