The leadership crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State seems to have deepened as two factions of the party gave different interpretations to the recent ruling of the Court of Appeal, to favour their claims to legitimacy.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt last Friday ruled on an appeal filed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party against an injunction of a Rivers State High Court restraining the party from conducting its congresses in the state.
The appellate court held that issues concerning the internal affairs and leadership of a political party are not justiciable, thereby nullifying the earlier High Court order and striking out the suit filed by Peter Ohochukwu on behalf of the dissolved state working committee led by Emeka Beke.
The Chief Tony Okocha-led APC in the state, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, celebrated the judgment as a victory and a validation of its leadership, saying that the appellate court’s decision has reaffirmed Okocha as the party’s chairman in the state.
The statement, which was signed by the faction’s spokesman, Hon. Chibike Ikenga, reads in part: “With the judgement delivered by the Court of Appeal in the representative action brought by Peter Ohochukwu & Anor on behalf of Emeka Beke, it is now obvious to all doubting Thomases that Chief Tony Okocha led State Executive Committee remains the undisputed State Executive Committee of the Rivers State Chapter of the APC.
“Those who are familiar with the principle of judicial precedent know that the Court of Appeal is bound by its previous decision, and that it is only a matter of time before the judgement delivered by Hon. Justice Aprioku which dabbled into the internal affairs of the APC by declaring Chief Emeka Beke as chairman is set aside.”
However, in a counter-statement the Chief Emeka Beke-led APC dismissed the interpretation of the judgment by the Okocha camp as misleading and false, clarifying that the Court of Appeal ruling was merely on an interlocutory appeal and did not invalidate the subsisting High Court judgment affirming Beke’s leadership.
The statement, which was signed by the faction’s spokesman, Hon. Darlington Nwauju, stated that the ruling did not disturb the judgment delivered by Justice Sika Aprioku on August 12, 2024, which validated the tenure of the Beke-led executive until October 21, 2025.
It reads in part: “While we acknowledge the said judgement, we state in categorical terms that the judgment has not changed anything. The matter was an interlocutory appeal challenging the interim orders of injunction made against Appellants therein by the High Court of Rivers State.
“The judgement did not disturb the validity of the tenure of office of the duly elected Executive Committee of the Party as led by Chief Emeka Beke which has been duly recognized and affirmed by the High Court of Rivers State.”