Rivers: Appeal Court sets aside 2015 judgement that sacked APC LG chairmen

The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt has set aside the Federal High Court’s judgment nullifying the 2015 election of local government chairmen elected under the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The case originated in 2015, when the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and former Governor Nyesom Wike challenged the validity of the local government elections conducted before Wike assumed office.

Following the Federal High Court’s ruling, which removed the elected chairmen from office, the affected chairmen filed an appeal after the court refused to join them in the suit.

Delivering judgment on Friday morning, a three-man panel led by Justice A. H. Lager-Balogun criticised the Federal High Court for failing to address the issue of jurisdiction and for excluding the affected chairmen despite the ruling’s direct impact on them.

The court declared the earlier judgment null and void but declined to make consequential orders regarding the 23 local government councils.

Counsel to the embattled chairmen, James Kalu-Momg, stated that they would “review the judgment before deciding on the next legal steps.”

Meanwhile, one of the affected chairmen, Reginald Ukwuoma, insists they should resume office, citing the vacancy at the local government secretariats following the recent Supreme Court ruling.