Court Ruling: We won’t allow repeat of 2019 experience in Rivers, says APC

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has promised to do everything to avert a repeat of what happened in 2019 when a judgment prevented the party from contesting the general election.

It said it would not be discouraged by Tuesday’s Federal High Court ruling nullifying its primary election and sacking its candidates in the 2023 general election.

Justice Emmanuel Obile delivered the recent judgment in a suit filed by George Orlu and four others, who claimed that they were unlawfully excluded from taking part in the process of electing the party’s delegates.

Speaking in Port Harcourt, the APC Chairman in the state, Chief Emeka Beke, urged members not to lose hope in their quest to take over leadership.

He said the party was ready to pursue the matter to logical conclusion and hoped that the Appeal Court would correct the injustice.

Beke said: “We are calling on our supporters to remain calm and focused. This judgment naturally will not hold water. We urge our members to remain focused because we are ready to pursue it to logical conclusion. Nobody will deny us victory in this 2023 election.

“Every common man expects that you get justice at the lower court, but in Rivers State it is different. It was shocking to us yesterday (Tuesday) when the judgment came. We saw it coming because the judgment was written three weeks ago. By the grace of God, we will get justice.”

He wondered why the court would give judgment to the plaintiffs, who, according to him, were not part of the process, insisting that the judgment was a mere distraction.

The APC chairman said: “You must be part of the process before you can go to court. As a party, we are working very hard to be on the ballot. We are working to ensure that what happened the last time will not be repeated.

“They are only trying to distract our people, then begin to buy them over to their party with the claim that APC does not have candidates.

“As a party we are supposed to launch our campaign team on Friday and role out our master plan for Rivers people. We have to postpone it till next week. We need to start a process to boost the morale of our followers and we will come out very strong.”