2023 Polls: Appeal Court Offers Respite To Cole, APC Flag Bearers In Rivers

BY ONYEKACHUKWU IBEZIM – An Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt has upturned the Federal High Court ruling barring the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, National, and State assembly candidates in Rivers State from participating in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.

The Appellate Court delivered the ruling in three separate cases brought beofre it on appeal by the APC, its gubernatorial candidate, Cole, as well as the national and state assembly candidates following an earlier judgment by the High Court.

In their judgment, the three-man special panel of the Appeal Court of Appeal led by Justice Muhammed Lawal-Shaibu said the respondents, George Orlu, and five others did not exhaust the internal party mechanism of the APC before approaching the lower court.

According to Justice Shaibu, since the respondents did not participate in the APC congresses, they did not have any cause of action and lacked the locus standi to institute the case in court.

He said it was inconceivable for the Federal High Court judge not to have joined some candidates of APC who are interested parties in the suit, noting that the nomination or election of delegates by political parties is purely an internal party affair and the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit ab initio.

The Appellate Court thereby set aside the judgment against APC and awarded the sum of five hundred thousand Naira each for the three cases as cost against the appeal respondents in favour of APC.

Also, in a 15-grounds appeal instituted by senatorial, federal reps and state assembly candidates the court held that the aggrieved defendants at appeal failed to exhaust all the internal mechanisms as contained in the APC’s constitution before approaching the court.

He said the trial judge did something strange when it delivered judgment on the preliminary objection of the defence and the substantive matter just to grant all the prayers of the plaintiff.

Justice Shaibu said the judge was in a serious error for not going into the merit of the matter, questioning how the court arrived at reasons to deliver its judgment without properly examining the case before it.

Consequently, the Appellate Court said the appeals by APC, Cole, and all the assembly candidates have been allowed on merit.

Reacting to the ruling, the Rivers State APC 2023 Campaign Council praised the judiciary for towing the path of justice with the Council’s spokesman, Sogbeye Eli, saying the judgment has now offered the people an opportunity to choose among candidates at the poll.

Urging politicians to approach democracy with utmost responsibility, Eli disclosed that following the Court ruling, the APC is now positioned to flag off its campaign activities in full force, even as he explained that the opposition party will not apply to use public schools for campaigns as demanded by the Governor Nyesom Wike-led administration.

The APC Council Spokesperson, who gave reasons for the Party’s decision, stated thus; “We will not apply to anybody to use the schools’ facilities. If we do that it, amounts to illegality because we are in court challenging the government’s directives”.

Recalled that the Federal High Court presided over by Justice Emmanuel Obile in Port Harcourt had on 25th October 2022, sacked all the candidates of APC following a suit brought before it by George Orlu and five others for allegedly being excluded from the party’s delegate congresses.