Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has upheld a High Court judgment that nullified All Progressives Congress (APC) ward, local government, and state congresses in Rivers State that produced the Tony Okocha-led executive committee.
Gatekeepers News reports that according to court documents and multiple reports, the appellate court affirmed that the lower court was right to invalidate the congresses conducted by the APC in December 2024 despite an earlier court order restraining the party from proceeding with the exercise.
The disputed congresses had produced Okocha and other state executives, but the High Court ruled that the process was carried out in violation of a subsisting order of court and therefore void. That ruling was challenged by Okocha and his faction at the Court of Appeal, where they argued that the High Court lacked jurisdiction to make the decision.
However, the appellate court dismissed the appeal, holding that it was incompetent and affirming that the High Court acted within its powers.
With the judgment, the earlier decision nullifying the congresses and the executive structure that emerged from them remains valid and binding. Party officials from the opposing faction welcomed the ruling, insisting that the congresses were conducted in disregard of court orders, while the APC leadership said it would study the judgment before deciding its next legal step.
The case is part of the ongoing internal legal and leadership disputes within the Rivers APC over the legitimacy of its state structure following contested congresses.
