The High Court of Rivers State, sitting in Port Harcourt, has ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) to maintain the status quo ahead of Saturday's local government congress by the Tony-Okocha-led faction of the party.
This was after three aggrieved party members, Okwu Joebrown Ndike, Peace Oganu, and Samuel Uchegbule, dragged the party to court, alleging that the party denied them nomination forms they paid for to contest positions in the local government and ward congresses.
The Tony-Okocha-led APC announced plans to hold the local government and the state congresses on 23 and 30 November 2024 after successfully holding the ward congress last Saturday. The Emeka Bekee-led faction of the party had kicked against this, saying that their tenure would expire in 2025.
In the court documents sighted by Nigeria Info, the three aggrieved party members filed a motion seeking to stop the APC and its national chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, from conducting any elective congresses of the party in the state without including them, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
They sought an order of interim injunction specifically restraining the party and the national chairman from taking any further step or action toward the elective congresses of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress in respect of local government and state executive committees or any congresses whatsoever scheduled to hold on 23 and 30 November 2024 or any other date, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
The motion was also to restrain the party from accepting, recognizing, or inaugurating any person as the winner of the elective Congresses of the All Progressives Congress, Rivers State Chapter in Executive Committees conducted on 16 November 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
The court adjourned the case until 3 December 2024 for further deliberations.
