LG Poll: Appeal Court Joins 22 Chairmen In Rivers

An Appeal Court sit
ting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has joined  the dissolved  22 local government council chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressive Congress  (APC) in May 2015.
The Trial Judge, Justice Theresa  Orji-Abadua, while ruling on the application for joinder brought by the 22 sacked  APC chairmen  on Monday, said the applicants have the right to be  joined as interested  parties in the matter.
Justice Abadua however, gave the applicants Five days to file   their proper appeal  and regularise such processes from the date of the ruling .
The trial judge also gave the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and the other parties, the state government, RISIEC and INEC seven days and five days respectively to respond accordingly.
Speaking to journalists after the court ruling, counsel to the sacked chairmen, Emenike Ebete, (Esq) disclosed that the inport of the ruling  was that  the Appellate  court has affirmed that his client was  an interested parts in the matter.
Emenike averred that the court also  hinged its decision on the ground  that the 22 local government  chairmen were to be affected by the outcome  of the ruling,  adding that  they  will proceed  to comply with the  directive of the court to regularise their five days notice.
It would be recalled that a Federal High Court presided over by Justice Lambo  Akanbi (rtd) had in July 2015 sacked the 22 LGA chairmen on the ground that their election was conducted in defiance of a court order, that order for status quo.
The trial judge also denied the LG chairmen the application for joinder in the matter before ruling which have become a subject of litigation at the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt.