The leadership crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has once again spilled into the courts — this time over who gets to sponsor candidates for the local government elections on August 30, 2025.
The faction loyal to Emeka Beke, who won the court case in the chairmanship tussle, has filed a lawsuit against the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and Tony Okocha, who is backed by the APC National Secretariat, claiming that only the Beke-led executives have the constitutional power to conduct primaries and submit candidates.
The suit, with number PHC/3163/CS/2025, was filed at the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The lead plaintiff, Awoala Emine, the Vice Chairman in the Beke-led executive, sued on behalf of the entire executive committee elected in 2021.
Twenty-three other individuals joined the suit, each claiming to be the authentic chairmanship candidates of the party for the local government poll.
The claimants want the court to:
“Declare the Beke-led SWC as the only body empowered to conduct primaries;
“Reaffirm that Tony Okocha is not APC chairman in Rivers;
“Compel RSIEC to publish and use only their list of candidates;
“Stop RSIEC from recognising any list from Okocha’s faction;
“Set aside the already published list of August 18; and
“Void the entire election if their candidates are not included.”
The court has given the defendants 21 days to respond.
The local government election is scheduled for August 30, just a few days after the filing of this suit.
