By Samuel Olusegun Precious
The Court of Appeal judgment affirming the High Court order nullifying the All Progressives Congress (APC) congresses in Rivers State has thrown the party back into legal uncertainty, just three months to INEC’s deadline for party primaries.
The ruling, which voided the ward, local government and state congresses that produced the Tony Okocha-led executive, has far-reaching implications for the emergence of APC candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Who Conducts The Primaries?
The Okocha-led executive is the structure that would normally conduct House of Assembly, National Assembly and Governorship primaries in Rivers. If the High Court nullification remains in force — as argued by the Emeka Beke-led faction — any primaries conducted by that executive can be challenged as having been conducted by an illegal party organ.
The Section 77 Trap
The development comes as the APC national leadership urged INEC to enforce the Supreme Court judgment in INEC v. Zenith Labour Party, delivered on September 24, 2026, which affirmed Section 77 of the Electoral Act 2026.
The section provides that political parties must submit their membership register to INEC at least 21 days before primaries, congresses and conventions, and that only members on the duly submitted register are eligible to vote and be voted for.
If the congresses that produced Okocha were nullified, the membership register and delegate list used for the exercise may be legally defective, putting any candidate list emanating from that structure at risk of rejection by INEC.
INEC Monitoring At Risk
INEC is bound by law to monitor primaries conducted by legitimate party leadership. If the Commission recognises the Beke-led executive or a caretaker committee as the valid leadership based on the court order, it may decline to monitor primaries organized by the Okocha faction. Under the Electoral Act, primaries not monitored by INEC are invalid and produce no candidate.
Fear Of Parallel Primaries
The ruling raises the spectre of parallel primaries — one by the Okocha faction and another by the Beke faction — similar to what led to the exclusion of APC from the ballot in Rivers State in 2019.
Legal experts warn that courts can nullify all APC candidates if the pre-primary process is found to be flawed.
What APC Must Do
To save its candidates, the party will need to obtain the Certified True Copy of the Appeal Court judgment, seek a stay of execution at the Supreme Court or conduct fresh congresses under a court-recognised leadership before primaries. It will also need to submit a clean, verifiable membership register to INEC 21 days before primaries to satisfy Section 77.Sources within the party say the National Working Committee (NWC) may need to constitute a neutral caretaker committee to conduct fresh, INEC-monitored congresses in Rivers.
Until the leadership question is settled by the Supreme Court or through fresh valid congresses, every APC aspirant in Rivers is campaigning on a legally shaky platform. If not resolved before the January 2027 primaries window, APC risks disqualification of its candidates in Rivers State again.
