Appeal Court Upholds Nullification of Rivers APC Congresses, Okocha Camp Insists Leadership Remains Intact
The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt has upheld a Rivers State High Court judgment that nullified the congresses which produced the Tony Okocha-led executive of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The appellate court dismissed an appeal filed by Okocha and members of his executive, seeking to overturn the lower court’s decision. The court subsequently struck out the appeal and directed all parties to return to the Rivers State High Court for the hearing of the substantive case.
The dispute stems from a December 20, 2024 judgment by Justice Obomanu of the Rivers State High Court, which declared the APC congresses in Rivers State invalid and nullified the process that produced Okocha and other members of the party’s executive committee.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Elfreida Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu, the Court of Appeal affirmed the High Court’s decision, effectively sustaining the nullification of the congresses. The judgment, delivered virtually via Zoom, also invalidated actions carried out on behalf of the APC in Rivers State by the dissolved executive between December 20, 2024, and the date of the ruling.
Reacting to the development, the Publicity Secretary of the Okocha-led APC executive, Chibike Ikenga, urged party members not to panic, arguing that the judgment had been widely misinterpreted.
According to him, the appeal court’s decision did not directly affect the status of the current executive, insisting that the matter before the court was an interlocutory appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the High Court and not the validity of the state executive itself.
Ikenga explained that the appellate court struck out the appeal and directed parties to return to the High Court for the substantive hearing of the case. He added that the party’s legal team would study the full judgment before deciding on the next course of action.
He further maintained that the ruling had no connection with the state congress that produced Okocha and other members of the APC State Executive Council, noting that a separate suit challenging that congress had already been dismissed earlier in 2026.
However, counsel to the respondents, Emenike Ebete, said the judgment effectively sustained the High Court’s earlier order nullifying the congresses. He argued that the appeal was struck out because it was found to be incompetent, meaning the lower court’s decision remains valid and enforceable.
Ebete recalled that the High Court had earlier issued an order directing parties to maintain the status quo before the congresses were conducted. According to him, the congresses proceeded despite the court order, prompting the court to later nullify them.
The latest ruling is expected to deepen the leadership tussle within the Rivers APC as both camps continue to interpret the court’s decision differently while awaiting further legal proceedings at the High Court.
