Rivers Court Dismisses Motion To Appeal Judgment On Sacked PDP Executives Loyal To Wike

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has dismissed a motion seeking leave to appeal a judgment that removed the executives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State.

Naija News reports that the court ruled against the request from the sacked PDP state chairman, Chukwuemeka Aaron, and 24 others who sought to be recognized as interested parties in the appeal process.

The suit was filed by William Fialasoika and 24 others, challenging the PDP’s conduct of ward, local government, and state congresses despite a prior court order halting the process.

The PDP congresses, led by Aaron, were conducted in defiance of a court ruling, ultimately leading to the legal challenge.

On January 13, 2025, Justice Stephen Jumbo ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, nullifying the congresses and subsequently sacking the PDP executives.

This ruling effectively removed the state, local government, and ward executives of the PDP, who were loyal to the then-Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike. The congresses that led to their election were declared invalid by the court.

Following the judgment, the sacked executives, including Aaron, Oye Fubara Igenewari (representing local government executives), and Thankgod Beke (representing ward executives), filed a motion seeking leave from the court to appeal the ruling as interested parties.

However, Justice Stephen Jumbo dismissed their motion, citing that the PDP, as the defendant, had already filed an appeal against the judgment that nullified the congresses.