Judiciary upholds annulment of APC party meetings that elected Okocha and other officials

A division of the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has upheld the decision of a Rivers State High Court that nullified the Congresses of the All Progressives Congress, which led to the emergence of Tony Okocha and other party executives in the state.

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This development stems from an ex parte order issued by Justice Godswill Obomanu of the Rivers State High Court on December 20th, 2024, restraining the All Progressives Congress from conducting its congresses in the state, which the party disregarded.

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The Court of Appeal's judgment, citing the party's disregard for the court's orders, has nullified the congresses of the APC, a decision that was appealed by Mr Okocha with appeal number CA/PH/523/2026, arguing that the High Court lacked jurisdiction in the matter.

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A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Elfreida Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu, unanimously upheld the decision of the Rivers State High Court, nullifying the Congresses that brought the Tony Okocha-led executive to power.

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According to one of the respondents' counsels, Emenike Ebete, the judgment renders all correspondence signed by Okocha from 2024 till the date of the judgment null and void, including the results of the last local government elections that produced council chairmen, vice chairmen, and councillors.

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An appeal filed by Tony Okocha's executive against the order of Justice Obomanu that nullified the congresses was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which stated that the appeal was incompetent and struck it out, thereby upholding the order nullifying the congresses.

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Ebete explained that the court's decision was based on the fact that the APC had disobeyed the court's ex parte order restraining them from conducting the congresses, and subsequently, the court nullified the congresses for disregarding its order.

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The APC in the state has acknowledged the judgment, with the party's Publicity Secretary, Chibike Ikenga, stating that the court only handled an Interlocutory Issue on Jurisdiction of the High Court to hear the matter on congresses of the party.

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Ikenga noted that there is no threat to the existence of the executive of the party in the state, as the court's decision only addressed an interlocutory issue, and the case has been sent back to the Court of first instance for full trial.

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Ikenga advised party faithful to remain calm and not panic, stating that the party's lawyers will study the full judgment and advise on the next step, and that the status of the EXCO remains unchanged pending full trial.