By Glory Wobo
Since the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt judgement that upheld the Rivers State High Court ruling that nullified the APC Ward, local government, and state congresses, there have been comments by political pundits and stakeholders suggesting that APC party primaries conducted in the state by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to elect candidates for the various elective positions in the coming 2027 general elections in the country will be affected by the judgment of the Appeal Court.
The judgment is interpreted by some to mean that the emergence of the Chief Tony Okocha-led caretaker executive has been invalidated. Other interested parties in the case have a different opinion or interpretation.
The Emeka Beke faction views the judgment as a total removal of the Okocha-led executive, while the Okocha camp maintains that the matter was an interlocutory appeal and that the substantive suit is yet to be fully determined at the lower court.
Recall that the appellate court ruled that the Rivers State High Court had the jurisdiction to issue an ex parte restraining order against the congresses conducted by the Okocha-led executive.
After the Port Harcourt judgment, the Emeka Beke-led faction of the APC in the state had called on the National Working Committee of the party to cancel the primaries that led to the election of the party candidates for the coming general elections in 2027.
Addressing a press briefing in Port-Harcourt, the Spokesperson of Beke faction , Mr Darlington Nwauju, presented seven demands before the party. He asked, amongst others, that: “ All nominations, representation, communication, including decisions reached on behalf of the Rivers State APC between December 20, 2024 to Friday 29th May 2026 with the seal of members of the illegal executive, is to the extent of the subsistence of the orders of the court illegal.
“ That as at today, there is no other legally constituted executive of the APC in Rivers State.”
However, the question on the lips of many is; can any state executives conduct party primaries or election of the party executives or delegates ?
Can anyone from the party challenge the outcome of the party primaries he or she did not participate in? There are legal authorities and decided cases to address these questions.
In a decided case, it was established that “ Only the National Working Committee ( NWC) of a political party that can, through its Governorship Primary Election Panel & Appeal Panel, conduct Governorship primary in a State in Nigeria.
“ A State Working Committee of a party (or, State EXCO ) can not conduct Governorship primaries. Governorship primary must be conducted in accordance with the Party’s Guidelines, its Constitution & Electoral Act, 2026. ( see, WAZIRI v.PDP( 2023) 7 NWLR( PART 1882) 57( SC).
“Thus, any defect affecting a State Working Committee (or ,STATE EXCO) of a political party doesn’t and CANNOT adversely affect the outcome of a governorship primary conducted in a State by the NWC of a political party,” it was decided.
On Local Standi or those who can challenge the outcome of party primaries, it was also decided by a court of competent jurisdiction that “ Further, a person who didn’t participate in a party primary election as an aspirant doesn’t have the locus standi to challenge its outcome “.
Reacting to the Appeal Court judgment, APC spokespersons and supporting lawyers clarified that the appellate verdict was delivered in “ an interlocutory appeal, which challenged the jurisdiction of the High Court rather than the substantive legality of the exco itself.”
They further contended that because the matter was sent back to the lower court (the court of first instance) for a full trial, the status of the Tony Okocha-led executive remains intact and operational until the substantive case is finally determined.
Many legal minds have reminded politicians that the Nigerian Supreme Court has consistently ruled that courts lack jurisdiction to interfere in the internal affairs of political parties.
The apex court has said that political parties are “ voluntary associations with internal constitutions, meaning issues like leadership disputes and candidate nominations are non-justiciable.”
The Principle of Party Supremacy has to be considered when looking at the issue at stake.The Supreme Court (e.g., in cases like Anyanwu v. Emmanuel and Uba v. Ozigbo) holds that “a party’s internal management, conventions, and disciplinary actions are exclusively for the party to resolve without external judicial intervention.”
Also, the Electoral Act strictly prohibits courts from entertaining jurisdiction over any suit or matter concerning political party’s internal affairs.
To discourage politicians who are bad losers from filing lawsuits, the Electoral Act mandates courts to impose heavy financial sanctions (not less than ¦ 10 million) against both the litigants and the lawyers who file intra-party disputes.
From the forgoing, it is obvious that the National Working Committee of APC will have the final say on all issues concerning the running of APC in Rivers State.
The fact that other APC contestants in the party’s primaries withdrew from the contest thereby making Hon Kingsley Chinda the consensus candidate of the party, means he is widely accepted in Rivers State, consequently closing several legal gateway for other non affected parties to litigate.
•Wobo Esq. lives in Port Harcourt.
