APP Crisis: Court Grants Expedited Order To Serve Party Chairman, Candidates, INEC

A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has granted an expedited order to serve Sunny Wokekoro, Rivers State Chairman of the Action People’s Party (APP), 23 chairmanship candidates, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) through substituted means.

The order was granted following an application by Excel Omeghara, counsel to the plaintiffs – Hart Badom, Destiny Omereji, and four others.

The plaintiffs are seeking Badom’s reinstatement as the authentic State Chairman of APP and Wokekoro’s removal as state chairman.

At the heart of the dispute is the legitimacy of the 23 chairmanship candidates, with the plaintiffs questioning their membership status within the party.

They argue that any actions taken by Wokekoro should be declared null and void.

Justice Emmanuel Obelle presided over the case, granting the expedited motion to serve the defendants through substituted means.

Speaking to newsmen outside the courtroom, counsel to the plainffs, Omeghara explained what transpired in court and why his clients approached the court.

He said: “Today, the plaintiffs were in court and they were granted an order for substituted service in the case of Destiny Emereji and five others against APP and 27 others.

They were  before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt. Today was just a harmless motion that was taken experte for substituted service and the Court graciously granted.

“My clients are the authentic leaders and stakeholders of APP who emerged as leaders of the party through the 2022 Congress supervised by INEC in Rivers State and we are in Court to say that our clients remain the authentic chairman and Excos of the party.

“Both at the state and the local governments. For instance the second and third plaintiffs are subsisting local government chairmen of APP in their various LGs. And they are court saying that they had never resigned or removed, yet they were not part of this primaries or electoral activities that brought in candidates.

“So they are in court for it to determine who is the authentic of APP. Is it the card carrying PDP members or the APP members who were elected on the APP platform. Does it automatically translate that when their Chairman resigned his position the position is no longer in existence? We are saying that section 78 of the APP constitution says that  where a position becomes vacant, the deputy will automatically assume.”

But in the event that the chairman and the deputy resigned that a member of the party from the exco will be refilled by the remaining the exco.

Badom, in an interview, narrated his ascension to the State Chairman position and expressed his desire for the court to clarify the current situation within the party. He emphasized that the chairmanship candidates are unknown to the party.