Rivers APC downplays Appeal Court judgment sacking Okocha

Chief Tony Okocha, with security at the Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Port Harcourt, venue of APC campaign flag off on Thursday. Credit: Dennis Naku

A Division of Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital has affirmed the order of a Rivers State High Court which nullified the congresses of the All Progressives Congress that produced Chief Tony Okocha (as state chairman) and other party executives in the state. This is as the party said the judgment poses no threat to the existence of the Okocha led executive in the state. Recall that Justice Godswill Obomanu of the Rivers State High Court had on the 20th of December, 2024, issued an ex parte order restraining the All Progressives Congress from conducting its congresses in the state. However, the party carried on with the said congresses, which saw the emergence of Tony Okocha as party’s chairman in the state, alongside others executives The Court has in its judgment nullified the Congresses of the APC, citing disregard of court orders. Following the development, Chief Okocha had filed an appeal with appeal number CA/PH/523/2026, arguing that the high court had no jurisdiction in the matter and, as such, was not empowered to make the said order. However, the three man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Elfreida Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu in a unanimous judgment upheld the decision of the Rivers State High Court nullifying the Congresses that brought Tony Okocha-led executive. Meanwhile, one of the respondent’s counsels, Emenike Ebete, said the judgment meant that every correspondent signed by Okocha from 2024 till the date of the judgment is null and void including the last local government elections which produced council chairmen, their Vice and councillors have been voided. He said an appeal was filed by Tony Okocha exco against the order of Justice Obomanu that nullified the congresses that were conducted by APC while the matter was in court. Now, before those congresses were conducted, the court gave an ex parte order restraining them from conducting those congresses. Related News DLA defends disqualifying presidential aspirant, insists process was fair Rainbow Coalition will choose Rivers gov candidate for 2027 — Wike Ogene wins NDC’s Reps ticket They disobeyed the order of court, went ahead and conducted local government, state, and ward congresses. So we went back to the high court and prayed that those congresses be nullified, having disobeyed the court order, and the court nullified the congresses. “They appealed to the court of appeal against the ex parte ord