From Tony John, Port Harcourt
A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, , has cancelled the All Progressives Congress (APC) primaries in Rivers State.
The court gave the decision, yesterday, in a suit brought before it by some aggrieved members of the party who had during the primaries of the party lamented exclusion.
During the APC primaries, some members of the party had alleged exclusion and took protest to the state Secretariat of the party in Port Harcourt.
Meanwhile, One George Orlu and four others who claimed to have bought nomination forms, had approached the court requesting that the primaries of APC in Rivers be nullified following their alleged exclusion in the process.
The court, in its decision, ruled that the persons were unlawfully excluded from the primaries.
In his ruling, Justice E.A. Obile, held that the aggrieved persons were shut out of the primaries unlawfully, adding that the process amounted to nullity.
Obile agreed with the plaintiffs (Orlu and others) that they were wrongly excluded in the process to participate in the party primaries.
He, therefore, ruled that all those elected from the process (primary) were nullified and should not be recognized as candidates.
Reacting, spokesman for APC, Darlington Nwauju, said the verdict was a matter within the domestic jurisdiction of the party and a travesty of justice.
“Supreme Court has decided on a plethora of cases suggesting that political parties are their own CEOs and can regulate their own internal affairs.
“The subject matter for which Justice E.A. Obile granted the relief of plaintiffs to nullify the congresses of our party is entirely an internal party affair. Therefore, it’s a travesty of justice as far as we are concerned.”