Court Nullifies APC Guber Primaries In Rivers

A federal high court sitting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital, has nullified the primaries conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

A claimant, George Orlu, and four other persons identified as aspirants had filed a case before the court seeking a nullification of the primaries over their alleged exclusion.

The presiding judge, E.A. Obile, gave the ruling on the grounds that the plaintiffs were unlawfully excluded from the primaries.

The court ruled that those whose names have been submitted as having been elected from the primaries should not be recognised as validly-elected candidates for the APC in the state.

Tonye Cole, a former executive director of Sahara Group, had won the party’s governorship ticket during the primary in May, and INEC had recognised him, among others, as candidates for the party in Rivers for the 2023 polls.

In a reaction statement on Tuesday, Darlington Nwaujun, Rivers APC publicity secretary, described the ruling as a “travesty of justice”.

“Our immediate response is that the Supreme Court has decided on a plethora of cases suggesting that political parties are their own chief executive officers and can regulate their own internal affairs,” the statement read in part.