The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has upheld a High Court ruling that voided the congresses of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, which produced Chief Tony Okocha as chairman alongside other executives.
The appellate court affirmed that the Rivers State High Court acted within its powers when it nullified the party’s ward, local government, and state congresses on grounds that they violated a prior court order.
The dispute dates back to December 20, 2024, when Justice Godswill Obomanu of the Rivers State High Court issued an ex parte order stopping the APC from holding its congresses in the state. Despite the directive, the party proceeded with the exercise, leading to the emergence of Okocha as state chairman and other executives.
Following the congresses, the High Court subsequently set them aside, citing flagrant disobedience of its order.
Challenging the decision, Okocha and his camp filed an appeal (CA/PH/523/2026), arguing that the High Court lacked jurisdiction over the matter and should not have made the restraining order in the first place.
However, in a unanimous decision delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Elfreida Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, holding it was incompetent and therefore struck out, effectively leaving the High Court’s ruling intact.
A counsel to the respondents, Emenike Ebete, argued that the implication of the judgment was far-reaching, insisting that actions taken by the Okocha-led executive since 2024 could be considered invalid, including outcomes of local government elections conducted during the period.
He maintained that the APC had violated the subsisting court order by proceeding with congresses while the matter was still before the court, prompting the nullification.
Ebete further explained that the appeal against the ex parte order failed because the court found it incompetent, stressing that the initial judgment setting aside the congresses still stands.
In response, the Rivers APC downplayed the ruling, stating that it only addressed an interlocutory issue concerning jurisdiction and did not threaten the legitimacy of the current executive committee.
In a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Chibike Ikenga, the party said the judgment merely referred the matter back to the trial court for full hearing.
According to the statement, there is no immediate threat to the status of the Okocha-led executive, urging party members to remain calm while legal advisers study the judgment and determine the next steps.
The party also warned against what it described as misinterpretation of the court’s decision, insisting that the executive remains in place pending the final determination of the case.