Hope Dims For Rivers APC …As S’Court Reserves Ruling On Primaries

Much anticipated hope of members and candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State to participate in the forthcoming general elections was further dashed last Monday as the Supreme Court reserved ruling on the competence of the appeal on the legality of the primaries conducted by the party in the state.
The apex court had asked the parties in the suit to address it on the competence of the appeal after the appellants led by Mr Umar Abdullahi withdrew the appeal.
He also asked the court to enter a judgment dismissing it because it had been overtaken by events, since it ought to have been heard before January 1, 2019.
Abdullahi’s position was not opposed by the counsel to the APC, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, who informed the court that parties were at liberty to withdraw their appeal.
He, however, said the withdrawal cannot be anchored on the main appeal.
The panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Musa Datijjo, thereafter, struck out the case.
It also asked parties to address the court on the competence of the appeal at the Appellate Court which led to the instant appeal.
The apex court informed the parties that a date for the ruling would be communicated to them.
It would be recalled that on January 7, a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt nullified the direct and indirect primaries conducted by the two factions of the APC in Rivers State.
The presiding judge, Justice Kolawole Omotosho, held that both primaries were not conducted according to the law.
He had also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Tonye Cole and Magnus Abe as the Rivers State APC governorship candidates.
In line with the court ruling, INEC published the names of candidates for the National Assembly election in Rivers State, last Thursday, without including the APC candidates.