Appeal Court Sacks Pro-Wike’s Rivers APC Exco, Upholds Nullification of Congresses

Appeal Court Sacks Pro-Wike’s Rivers APC Exco, Upholds Nullification of Congresses

PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA – The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has upheld a ruling of the Rivers State High Court that voided the All Progressives Congress (APC) congresses which produced Tony Okocha and members of the party’s executive committee in the state . Okocha and members of the dissolved executive are known allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) , Nyesom Wike . The controversy dates back to December 20, 2024, when Justice Godswill Obomanu of the Rivers State High Court issued an ex parte order restraining the APC from conducting its ward, local government, and state congresses in the state pending the determination of a suit before the court . Despite the subsisting court order, the party proceeded with the congresses, which eventually produced Okocha and other members of the state executive committee . The Emeka Beke-led faction subsequently returned to court, arguing that the congresses were conducted in defiance of a valid court order, leading the High Court to nullify the congresses and all actions arising from them .

Dissatisfied with the decision, the Okocha-led executive approached the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/PH/523/2024 , contending that the High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter and was therefore not competent to issue the restraining order . However, in a judgment delivered on Friday, May 29, 2026, Justice Elfreida Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, affirmed the earlier ruling of the lower court and sustained the nullification of the congresses . The appellate court rejected Okocha’s argument and struck out the appeal for want of competence, effectively preserving the High Court’s order nullifying the congresses.

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Confirming the judgment, counsel to the Emeka Beke-led APC faction, Emenike Ebete, explained the legal implications of the ruling. “Before those congresses were conducted, the court gave an ex parte order restraining them from conducting the congresses. They disobeyed the order and went ahead to conduct ward, local government, and state congresses. So we returned to court and prayed that those congresses be nullified because they were conducted in violation of a court order, and the court granted the relief. They appealed against the ex parte order, arguing that the court had no jurisdiction and that the suit should be struck out. If that had happened, every consequential order, including the nullification of the congresses, would have collapsed. But the Court of Appeal held that the appeal was incompetent and struck it out. That means the High Court order nullifying the congresses still stands,” Ebete said .

The development is expected to have far-reaching implications for the party in Rivers State. Reports indicate that actions, decisions, and representations made by the Okocha-led executive on behalf of the APC since December 20, 2024, may now be considered null, void, and of no effect . There are also concerns that candidates produced by the party for future elections in the state could face legal challenges and risk of disqualification arising from the judgment . It should be noted that this appeal relates specifically to the interlocutory ex parte order and not to the substantive judgment of Justice Sika Aprioku that also sacked Tony Okocha and his exco as the leadership of the APC in Rivers State .

Responding to the ruling, the APC leadership loyal to Okocha dismissed suggestions that the executive had lost its standing, insisting that the matter remains unresolved pending a substantive hearing . In a statement issued on Saturday, the Rivers APC Publicity Secretary, Hon. Chibike Ikenga, maintained that the appellate court only determined an interlocutory appeal and directed that the substantive case return to the trial court for full trial . “The Leadership of the All Progressives Congress, Rivers State, is aware of the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt, dated Friday, May 29, 2026, in an interlocutory appeal and matter sent back to the Court of first instance for full trial in Appeal No. CA/PH/523/2024: APC & ANOR. V OKWU JOEBROWN NDIKE filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) challenging the jurisdiction of the High Court directing the parties to ‘maintain status quo’ and also challenging the competence of the suit before the Rivers State High Court. There is no threat to the status of the EXCO pending full trial. Our lawyers will study the full judgment and advise on the next step. We advise party faithful to remain calm and not panic by the deliberate misrepresentation of the facts and circumstances of the judgment by those who lack in-depth knowledge of what transpired in the Court,” Ikenga said . The party noted that it has applied for a certified true copy of the judgment and will determine the next line of action after reviewing the full text. The case is expected to return to the trial court for further proceedings as the legal battle over the leadership of the Rivers APC continues.

Appeal Court Sacks Pro-Wike’s Rivers APC Exco, Upholds Nullification of Congresses