Fresh legal tangles upset Wike’s web in Rivers

…Appeal court endorses nullification of Rivers APC exco backed by Wike

…Chinda’s guber strides face probe in Abuja

Nyesom Wike, immediate past governor of Rivers State and Minister of the FCT, is known to have a web that controls politics in his home state. He is still a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but through his rainbow coalition, he seems to control almost all the political parties in Rivers State, especially the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP.

This way, he ensured that only his allies emerged as guber candidates in both the APC and PDP to the extent that all contenders in the APC including Gov Fubara withdrew for Ovundah Kingsley (OK) Chinda.

Just when everything appeared tight and on course, two quick legal developments have appeared on the scene to create huge threats to the setup, especially around his guber gem.

The first is the looming disqualification of Chinda over defection or cross-carpeting rules in parliament, while the other is an appeal court ruling Friday in Port Harcourt endorsing the nullification of the executive committee of the state’s APC loyal to Wike.

Chinda has been loyalist for decades until he emerged Minority Leader in the present Federal House of Assembly. He was part of the Wike team in the Rivers’ PDP that worked for Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory. Many felt he was merely planted in the House of Reps to help the president while Godswill Akpabio was to do his bit in the Senate. It seemed to have gone well all these past three years.

Now, as plans for 2027 came up and as Wike no longer wanted Sim Fubara in the Brick House in Port Harcourt, Chinda came up and picked APC guber form for governorship. Nobody seemed to hear when he defected to the APC, but many felt he and his leader must have covered their tracks.

Now, reactions have emerged with threats of legal actions against his emergence. This came after Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, was asked to provide official parliamentary records showing that any letter announcing Chinda’s resignation as Minority Leader and defection from the PDP to the APC was formally read on the floor of the House.

The request followed a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja by the incorporated trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, seeking to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Chinda as an APC governorship aspirant.

The plaintiffs reportedly argued that there is no publicly available legislative evidence confirming that Chinda officially defected to the APC or properly resigned his leadership position in the House of Representatives.

The development is said to have sparked fresh political debates across Rivers State, with many observers warning that failure to provide convincing proof could raise serious legal questions capable of affecting Chinda’s eligibility and political standing.

Some say a disqualification is looming ahead because the issues of defection and resignation before joining another party are serious legal issues.

The situation is already generating tension within political camps loyal to former Rivers governor and current FCT minister. Some say reactions have continued to pour in from political watchers and party supporters, with many describing the court action as a major twist capable of reshaping the early calculations ahead of Rivers 2027.

Others, however, insist the matter is purely legal and should not yet be interpreted as a direct threat to Chinda’s ambition until the court reaches a final decision. Top sources in the APC in Rivers State have chosen the part of silence on the matter.

Read also: Dumo Lulu-Briggs sweeps Akuku-Toru LGA, set to pick Rivers NDC guber ticket

Tony Okocha and Appeal Court verdict:

As this was going on, a major twist occurred in the APC in Rivers State which produced the candidates of the party. Appeal Court in Port Harcourt agreed with a High Court ruling nullifying the emergence of another EXCO in the Rivers APC.

Recall that Godswill Obomanu of the Rivers State High Court had on December 20, 2024, nullified the Congresses conducted in Rivers state by the APC which purportedly produced Tony Okocha and his executives. This forced him and others to file Suit No CA/PH/523/2024 to upturn Obomanu’s judgement.

Now, Elfreida Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu of the Court of Appeal Port Harcourt Division, has upheld the decision of the Rivers State High Court nullifying the Congresses.

The Emeka Beke faction has been waiting in the wings for outcome of the appeal. A source in their camp said with this ruling, all decisions, correspondences, representations and communications made by the Okocha executives of the All Progressives Congress in Nigeria since December 20, 2024, are null, void and of no effect.

Okocha’s group has reacted, urging the supporters not to panic, saying the Appeal Court only asked the case to go back to the High Court for proper determination.

According to Chibike Ikenga, publicity secretary of the APC, aggrieved by that order, the Okocha APC filed an appeal, which the Court of Appeal struck out and returned the parties to the High Court for the determination of the substantive case.

He said there a similar suit (SUIT NO: PHC/3805/CS/2024: Charles Enyida & 2 Ors v APC & Anor filled before the Rivers State High Court (Coram: KOKPAN, J), wherein Charles Enyidia & Ors alleged that the Party refused to issue them with Nomination Form in respect of the State Congresses in which Tony Okocha and others were elected, was accordingly dismissed on 23rd March 2026 by the Rivers State High Court (Coram KOPAN J) for lacking in merit and for want of jurisdiction.

“We have applied for the Judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered today. Once the copy of the judgement is made available, our lawyers will address us on the next line of action.

“For the avoidance of doubt, this judgement delivered today has nothing to do with the State Congress wherein Okocha and other members of the APC State Executive Council were elected. The case involving the State Congress and the Executive members elected thereat, Suit No. PHC/3805/2024: Charles Enyinda & Ors vs APC was dismissed on 23rd March, 2026.

“We advise party faithful to remain calm and not panic by the deliberate misrepresentation of the facts and circumstances of the judgement by those who lack in-depth knowledge of what transpired in the Court.”