A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has postponed its ruling in a suit filed by chairmanship candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) under the Emeka Beke‑led faction. The plaintiffs, including Fubara Dagogo and eight others, sued the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) over the August 30 local government elections. Justice Stephen Jumbo presided over the hearing and considered arguments from both sides on whether the case was statute‑barred.
The claimants are seeking a perpetual injunction to prevent RSIEC from recognizing the results of the APC primaries held on August 4, 2025, or any other date. They argue that they were unlawfully substituted by the party, which forwarded an alternative list to RSIEC in a letter dated August 7, 2025. The APC in Rivers State is currently embroiled in a leadership dispute, with two factions led by Emeka Beke and Tony Okocha, respectively. The plaintiffs ask the court to declare them the authentic winners of the election, contending that their substitution was illegal.
Justice Jumbo has reserved his decision until November 5, after weighing the parties’ arguments. The case underscores the ongoing internal conflicts within the APC in Rivers State, a controversy that has produced multiple factions each claiming legitimacy. The court’s ruling is expected to have significant implications for the party’s structure and the outcome of the local government elections.
RSIEC has been drawn into the dispute, with the claimants seeking to prevent the commission from recognizing the APC primary results. They argue that RSIEC should not have accepted the party’s forwarded list of candidates. The postponement of the ruling until November 5 creates uncertainty about the case’s outcome, and both claimants and respondents will have to wait for a decision that could have far‑reaching consequences for the APC in Rivers State and the state’s electoral process.
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