November 22, 2024
By Idris Buba
A High Court in Rivers State, has ordered the Tony Okocha led faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state to maintain status quo ahead it planned local government congress of the party on Saturday.
Three aggrieved members of the Okwu Joebrown Ndike, Peace Oganu, and Samuel Uchegbule had dragged the party to court, alleging that the party denied them nomination forms they paid for to participate and vie for 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, however, the Emeka Bekee-led faction of the party had kicked against this, saying that their tenure as the substantive state executive would expire in 2025.
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In some of the sighted court documents 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.