2019: No Cause For Alarm Over Court Ruling – Rivers APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has advised its members and supporters not to panic over last Wednesday’s ruling of the Court of Appeal on the appeal it brought against the judgement of a Rivers State High Court.

The party said it still has three appeals relating to legal representation and jurisdiction before the Court of Appeal, challenging the judgement of Justice Chinwendu Nwogu of the state High Court, which will be heard in 2019.

This is as a chieftain of the APC, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, accused Rivers State governor, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike and the Senator representing Rivers South-East senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe of deliberately misinterpreting the ruling of the Appellate Court.

A Special Panel of the Court of Appeal had on Wednesday struck out three appeals filed by APC governorship candidate in the state, Pastor Tonye Cole, the party’s chairman and Hon. Ojukaye Flag-Amachree and adjourned sine dine on ruling on three other appeals before the Court.

The APC, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday by the director general, Tonye Cole Campaign Organisation, Dr Chidi Lloyd, said appeals against the High Court judgement still subsists.

Lloyd said, “Despite these setbacks, it is important to state that, the APC still has three subsisting appeals before the Court of Appeal namely: CA/PH/267/2018; CA/196/ 2018 and another, challenging representation by counsel and the jurisdiction of the High Court to entertain the suit.

“These appeals are all still alive and are pending before the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division and have not been determined. Also note that the Supreme Court yesterday (Wednesday) heard some aspects of the interlocutory appeal pending before it and have adjourned for judgement on 8/3/18.

“In all therefore, appeals by the APC against the suit, still subsist and not determined. I therefore, urge you to go about your campaigns diligently and prayerful in other to ensure total victory, nothing great comes great.”

Meanwhile, APC chieftain, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has urged members and supporters of the party in the state to ignore the alleged misinterpretation of Court of Appeals’ action by those he described as enemies of the party.

Eze, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP Friday in Port Harcourt, noted that the celebration of a partial court’s ruling, which had no categorical pronouncement or judgement, was an exhibition of ignorance, aimed at confusing and misleading ignorant followers who have no idea of judicial processes.

He stated that those celebrating the ruling, knowing well that it was not the full judgement, which had been suspended till after an expected Supreme Court decision, are doing so to achieve some dubious ends.

The APC chieftain said, “Celebration of partial ruling of the High Court without given judgement on the substantive issue before the Court by Wike and Abe and their misguided followers shows that their days as students of the law are wasted years or a ploy to give false hope to their followers.

“These people know very well that the ruling of the Appeal Court has nothing to do with what they are causing their followers to celebrate; it was a ruling dismissing suits, which made no categorical pronouncement on the status of our candidates, they know the judgement is suspended until after the Supreme Court gives its decision on another pending matter, which had been adjourned till March next year.

“So if they are aware of all these and still went ahead to give their ignorant followers a fool’s hope, then they are only out to achieve some dubious ends. To us, they are out to achieve two things; one, to keep their people in a state of delirium until the truth catch up with them and they have a reason to cry foul and cause chaos. Number two, they hope to cause panic in Rivers APC and dampen the spirit of our loyal and devoted members.

“However, we will encourage all true members of the APC in the state to ignore the fool’s day joke which the trio of Governor Wike, Senator Abe and their party, the PDP, are delighting themselves with. It is all a silly joke, which has no reality in law and justice.”