The Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice Stephen Jumbo, will on November 5, 2025, deliver a crucial ruling that will determine the fate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen elected in the state’s local government councils.
Naijaonpoint reports that the decision will focus on the issue of statute-bar jurisdiction in a suit filed by Fubara Dagogo and eight others against the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RISIEC) over the recognition of candidates submitted by rival APC factions.
The claimants, all loyalists of the Emeka Beke-led faction of the APC, are seeking a court declaration that RISIEC is legally bound to accept their candidacies, which were submitted for the August 30, 2025, local government elections.
They also asked the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining RISIEC from recognising the results of the primaries conducted on August 4, 2025, or any other date different from their faction’s submission.
According to the claimants, their names were submitted on August 13, 2025, as the authentic APC chairmanship candidates but were ignored in favour of nominees from a parallel APC faction.
The Beke faction wants the court to declare them as the rightful winners of the elections and substitute the currently serving APC chairmen in the 20 local government areas won by the party.
After hearing arguments from the counsel representing both the claimants and the defendants, Justice Jumbo adjourned the matter to November 5 for ruling on the preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction.
Naijaonpoint understands that the ruling will be pivotal in deciding not only the legitimacy of the elected local government chairmen but also the true leadership of the APC in Rivers State.
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