It’s all over for Rivers APC as supreme court strikes out all appeals (updated)

The supreme court has dismissed the appeal filed by the Rivers state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the 2019 elections.

A five-man panel headed by Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, struck out the appeal filed by the faction of the party loyal to Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, on Tuesday.

Amir Sanusi, a member of the panel, said the apex court will give reasons for striking out the suit at a yet to be known date.

The court also dismissed three other appeals filed by the APC, Ojukaye Flag Amachree and Tonye Patrick Cole on the grounds that they were statute barred.

They were filed outside the time allowed under section 285(9) and (12) of the constitution, the court said.

Amina Augie, who read the judgement on the three other appeals, said the appellants have no leg to stand on since the main appeal filed by the APC had earlier been struck out in the morning by the court.

Amaechi faction had challenged the judgment of a high court in Rivers which barred the party from conducting primaries to nominate candidates to represent the party in the forthcoming elections.

The high court judgement was based on a suit filed by the Rivers APC faction led by Magnus Abe, a serving senator.

Abe had asked the court to annul the congresses and primaries which the rival faction conducted.

Relying on the judgment, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) failed to enlist candidates of the party for the governorship, national and state assembly elections.