As Rivers APC Crisis Deepens: Appellate Court Declines To Set Aside Court Judgement

…Awaits S’ Court Ruling …No Gov’ship Candidate, State Exco, Others For APC …Why Game Is Over For Rivers APC

The crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State is far from over and not likely to end soon.

This is as a result of the refusal of the Court of Appeal to set aside the October 10, 2018 judgement of a Port Harcourt High Court nullifying all the Ward, Local Government and State Congresses of the party conducted prior to filing the suit and which subsequently rendered all the elections conducted by such congresses and all the Excos produced by the nullified congresses null and void, and of no effect.

The Court of Appeal reportedly refused to proceed with the appeal by the Amaechi led faction of the APC on grounds that a related matter is before the Supreme Court and cannot continue with the matter until the interlocutory appeal at the Supreme Court on the protracted legal battle for the soul of the APC in Rivers State is dispensed of.

The Presiding Justice, Justice Isaiah Akeju made the pronouncement on the request by counsel to the 23 members of the Rivers APC that their appeal on an earlier ruling of the court was still pending.

It therefore follows that with the Justice Nwogu judgement still in force, the APC in Rivers State presently has no Governorship, Senatorial, House of Representatives and House of Assembly candidates.

Similarly, the party has no legally recognized Ward, Local Government and State Executives pending the ruling of the apex court and commencement of proceedings at the appellate court.

With the development at the Court of Appeal Port Harcourt Division, Lawyers on both sides have continued with their deafening arguments as confusion reigns following the failure of the Appeal Court to make a definite pronouncement. 

Political commentators however, argued that from the foregoing the game is over for the Amaechi-faction of the APC.

Recall that: Subsection 2(f) of Section 15 allows INEC to Monitor Political Parties as well as create Rules and Guide lines to regulate the activities of Political Parties.

This section 15 subjects INEC to the constitution and any Act of the National Assembly related to it. Invariably INEC is subject to the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

Section 87 (4) (b) of the Electoral Act is clear that properly elected and statutory delegates from all Local Governments shall vote for the emergence of a candidate to fly the flag of a political party in a Governorship election.

The relevant section of the APC constitution is clear on the mode for the election or selection of delegates to a primary election for Governorship. It is by Congresses from the Ward to the State level.

Section 87(9) of the Electoral Act gives the Court or INEC the power to exclude a political party and her candidate from an election if the party primary did not meet the required standard of the Act.

The big question now is; considering all the judgements concerning APC and her numerous Ward and State Congresses in Rivers State, can the APC being without a State Executive Committee and Local Government Committee in the 23 local government areas of the state produce Delegates for the purpose of electing a Gubernatorial Candidate?

The Second question is, aren’t they barred by the guidelines set out by INEC to go through the whole process of having EXCOs at Ward and State level, producing delegates via Ward and State Congresses and then producing a Guber Candidate via primary elections with properly elected delegates as expected by the Act?

It therefore means that after the judgement of Justice Nwogu, the APC in Rivers State is reasonably excluded from the Guber Contest and other electoral offices up for grabs at the 2019 General Elections, the political commentators declared, stressing that a look at the Guidelines INEC has set for the 2019 elections makes it impossible for APC Rivers State to remedy the situation except INEC changes its guidelines and timeline. That will of course open the flood gates. The independence of INEC is now being tested.