By: Felix Ikpotor
Despite moves by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to reorganise the party, which allegedly informs the decision of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, to dissolve all state and zonal structures of the party, some members of the APC in Rivers State have filed a fresh suit in court to stop the planned membership revalidation/registration.
The suit comes despite warnings by the National Executive Committee of the APC to members to withdraw all litigations against the party, a warning that made the party’s NEC to expel its former Deputy National Chairman, Hilliard Ita for refusing to withdraw his suit against the party.
The applicants; Sunday Hawkings, Julius Nbugere, Lucky Nweke, Florence Deigh and Anthony Nwauche, are asking the court to stop the registration of new members into the APC until the matters in court have been disposed of.
Presiding Judge, Justice L. Ngbor Abina therefore ordered the applicants to put the defendants on notice and serve the APC by substituted means.
The matter, which is before a Rivers State High Court sitting in Okrika has been fixed for Dec. 11 for hearing.
Meanwhile, a former State Publicity Secretary of the APC in Rivers State, Chris Finebone raised an alarm that there were plans by the Rivers State Government and the People’s Democratic Party to destabilize the APC nationwide using the courts in Rivers state.
Finebone in a statement alleged that, “the government under Governor Nyesom Wike and PDP want to use the same tendencies within the APC in Rivers State that have been working in cahoots wwith them to weaken and sequestrate the APC in Rivers State using the State courts.
“Barely 24 hours after an APC National Executive Council meeting held and far reaching decisions were taken on the affairs of the party, a group in Rivers APC has filed a fresh suit against the membership revalidation exercise announced by the party.
“As things stand, a flurry of cases against the APC through the courts in Rivers State is expected to unravel in the days ahead with the intention to roll back the expected exodus of PDP members into the APC nationwide, an intention to distract the APC from consolidating and becoming even stronger for the PDP in future.”
