Hope rises for Tonye Cole as court voids judgment nullifying Rivers APC primaries

The court of appeal has set aside a judgment of the federal high court which disqualified all the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers 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 of the party in Rivers for the 2023 polls.

A claimant, George Orlu, and four other persons identified as aspirants had filed a case before a federal high court in the state seeking a nullification of the party’s primaries.

In a judgment delivered in October, E.A. Obile, the high court judge, nullified the governorship primary on the grounds that the plaintiffs were unlawfully excluded from the exercise.

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 of the APC in the state.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Muhammed Lawal-Shaibu said the respondents did not exhaust the internal party mechanism before instituting the suit.

Shaibu held that the respondents failed to participate in the congress of the APC and therefore lacked the locus standi to go to court.

The panel said the trial judge erred by refusing to join some candidates of APC who were interested parties in the suit.

The panel also said the nomination of delegates and political parties was purely internal party affairs, and that the high court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the first place.

The appeals by the APC, Cole, and assembly candidates were found meritorious.

Consequently, the appellate court set aside the judgment against APC and awarded the sum of N500,000 each for the three cases as cost against the appeal respondents, in favour of APC.

In a post on his social media handles following the appeal court ruling, Cole expressed satisfaction over the development.

“Yet another victory! My people, justice has prevailed again! We have had a big victory in the appeal court, upturning the first judgement that nullified the entire primaries & disqualified every APC candidate! Believe it or not, we are moving #FowardWithCourage. God dey our back, and it is very evident!” he wrote.