The leadership crisis within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has returned to the courts, this time over who has the right to sponsor candidates in the local government elections scheduled for 30 August 2025.
The faction loyal to Emeka Beke, who previously won the chairmanship dispute in court, has sued the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) and Tony Okocha, the factional leader backed by the APC National Secretariat. The Beke group insists that only its executives have the constitutional authority to conduct primaries and submit candidates.
The case, filed at the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt under number PHC/3163/CS/2025, was brought by Awoala Emine, Vice Chairman of the Beke-led executive, on behalf of the state executive elected in 2021. Twenty-three other claimants also joined, asserting that they are the party’s legitimate chairmanship candidates for the forthcoming poll.
The defendants include RSIEC, Tony Okocha, and the candidates produced by the Okocha-led faction.
The Beke group argued that, under the APC constitution, only the State Working Committee (SWC) can organise primaries and submit names to the electoral commission. They cited two court rulings to support their claim: a 2023 judgment by Justice S.H. Aprioku, which affirmed the Beke-led exco’s tenure until October 2025, and a 2024 ruling by Justice G.V. Obonanu, which invalidated the congress that brought in Okocha.
According to the plaintiffs, RSIEC unlawfully excluded their candidates from the list published on 18 August after allegedly accepting names submitted secretly by Okocha’s group. They accused the commission of colluding with the rival faction to sideline them.
They are asking the court to declare the Beke-led SWC as the only body empowered to conduct primaries, reaffirm that Okocha is not the APC chairman in Rivers State, compel RSIEC to publish only their candidates, and void the election if their nominees are excluded.
The court has given the defendants 21 days to respond.
The local government elections are due to take place on 30 August, just days after the suit was filed.