Rivers APC Crisis: Party Reacts To Supreme Court Judgment, Calls It Mere Academic Exercise

Agency ReporterOctober 22, 2018

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The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC has reacted to today’s judgment by the Supreme on the crises rocking the state chapter of the party in a matter brought before the apex court involving 23 aggrieved members of the party who alleged that they were unduly excluded from the party congresses.

In a swift reaction by the State Spokesperson of the APC in Rivers State, Chris Finebone, the Supreme Court Judgment was described as a mere academic exercise.

Finebone insisted that the Supreme Court did not set aside the congresses and primaries of the party.

The full statement:

The Rivers State Chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, would like to state, for the avoidance of doubt, that the appeal filed at the Supreme Court by Ibrahim Umar & 22 ors of which the ruling was given today, 3 issues were canvassed before the Supreme Court one of which was that the Appeal Court did not act correctly by granting a stay of execution on the interlocutory orders of the State High Court. The Supreme Court agreed with them. However, the Supreme Court did not make pronouncements on the other issues since the State High Court had already given final judgment on them, an action that has left the present development a mere academic exercise.

The Supreme Court only granted the appeal in parts and did not make any consequential orders as that can only be subject matter at the Appeal Court when the appeal hearing of the State High Court judgment commences.

According to Counsel to APC, “The Supreme Court today allowed the appellant appeal which was against the stay of Order of Injunction of 11/05/2018.The Court said the said order should not have been stayed. The Supreme Court made no orders except to set aside the Court of Appeal order. That clears the way for hearing of the main appeal at Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt against the judgment of the High Court. Their prayer that Supreme Court should hear the pending appeal at Court of Appeal was rejected .The appeal is to be heard and determined by Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt.”

It is important for APC faithful to ignore the raging propaganda by detractors that the Supreme Court set aside congresses and primaries of the party in Rivers State. That is a big lie from the pit of hell.

As things stand, all pending appeals at the Appeal Court are proceeding apace with some ongoing today. Furthermore, appeal and stay of the final judgment of the State High Court given on the 10th of October are being perfected and hearing will commence thereafter.

We call on all APC members to remain steadfast and refuse to be distracted as ultimate victory is assured. Those claiming victory and dancing in the streets are doing so either out of ignorance or out to deceive others”.

Meanwhile, members of the Senator Magnus Abe led faction of the APC has been thrown celebration over the news of the Supreme Court Judgment which they interpret to be in their best interest.
Many of the supporters Abe, who is a frontline governorship aspirant tropped out to his campaign office in Portharcout this afternoon to celebrate the judgment with him.