A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has issued an ex parte order allowing the plaintiffs to serve Rivers State Action People’s Party (APP) Chairman, Sunny Wokekoro, the party’s 23 chairmanship candidates for the upcoming local government elections, and the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) through substituted means.
The plaintiffs, Hart Badom, Destiny Omereji, and four others, are challenging the legitimacy of Wokekoro as the APP State Chairman, seeking his removal, and calling for Badom’s reinstatement. They are also questioning the candidacy of the 23 APP chairmanship candidates, alleging irregularities regarding their membership in the party.
The plaintiffs, represented by counsel Excel Omeghara, argued for substituted service as the defendants had been elusive, a request that was granted by Justice Emmanuel Obele.
APP has seen a surge in prominence in Rivers State after it became the preferred platform for loyalists of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to contest the October 5 local government elections. Many of the APP candidates were previously members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before switching parties due to internal disagreements within the PDP.
A leadership crisis within the PDP in Rivers has further complicated the political landscape. Despite Governor Fubara’s automatic leadership of PDP, his predecessor, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has refused to step down, leading to factional tension within the party.
In response, the Rivers State PDP, led by Chairman Aaron Chikwuemeka, has decided to boycott the forthcoming local government elections, affirming its loyalty to Wike.
