A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has issued an order against the Rivers State chapter of the Action Peoples Party (APP) ahead of the local government elections set for Saturday, October 5, 2024, as the court granted permission to serve the APP Chairman, Sunny Wokekoro, and 23 chairmanship candidates through a substituted means, as reported.
This order follows a suit filed by Hart Badom, Destiny Omereji, and others, challenging Wokekoro’s position as state chairman and are demanding Badom’s reinstatement.
The plaintiffs argue that Wokekoro’s actions, including the selection of the 23 candidates, should be voided, claiming that these candidates are not legitimate members of the APP.
The party is currently experiencing internal crisis following the involvement of Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s supporters, who are using the APP platform due to issues within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The plaintiffs’ lawyer, Excel Omeghara, told the court that his clients were the rightful leaders of the APP, having been elected in a congress supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2022 and explained that his clients were not part of the recent primaries and elections that brought in the new candidates.
Omeghara stated that his clients want the court to clarify whether the APP is being led by legitimate members or PDP members who have joined recently and also highlighted that when the previous chairman, Kenneth Atata, resigned, the APP’s constitution dictated that the remaining executive members appointed Badom as chairman.
Hart Badom, speaking to reporters, insisted that he is the rightful APP chairman and that the current candidates are unknown to the party and that Wokekoro is not a member of the APP, and the party’s constitution was not followed in his appointment.
Peoplesmind