Rivers APC: Appeal panel adjourns to Dec 12

…Tonye Cole, others seek to join suit
The Special Appeal Panel set up by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa to handle the protracted legal tussle of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), now before the Port Harcourt Division of the Appeal Court has given all parties in the case till December 12, to file their responses and written addresses.

The Panel, headed by Justice Abubakar Yahaya on Monday adjourned the matter to December 12, for moving of applications and responses.

Arch Tonye Dele Cole, the governorship flag bearer of the party in the state and other party officials, including ticket holders voided by the lower court’s ruling are also seeking to join the matter which is an appeal against a Port Harcourt High Court ruling setting aside the processes and congresses that led to the emergence of the Ojukaiye Flag-Amachree led executives of the party in the state and Tonye Cole as its candidate.

The Panel gave respondent counsel Henry Bello 24 hours to regularize his application before the court and three and five days respectively to counsels of Ojukaiye Flag-Amachree and Tonye Cole to do same.

APC Counsel, Emenike Ebete told newsmen outside the court that his clients were seeking to join the suit because some sections of the High Court Judgment affected them.

“After the High Court of Rivers State delivered its judgment on the 10th of October, 2018, we got a copy of the judgment, perused it and discovered that the judgment touched on the rights of the candidates of the party.

“Against that decision, the candidates of the party (APC) have filed an application before the Court of Appeal to grant them leave to appeal as interested persons, interested in the outcome of the judgment because they were not initially party to the suit.

And the only way to appeal such a judgment is to seek the leave of the Court of Appeal to join.”

Respondent Counsel Henry Bello said one of the suits entertained by the Court was adjourned to December 12, 2018 for argument while another was adjourned sine die, pending the Supreme Court decision on a matter before it which affects it.

“A suit involving APC, Ibrahim Umar and 22 others was adjourned sine die to await the outcome of the matter in the Supreme Court. Two other applications by Tonye Cole, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree and others were adjourned to 12th December, 2018. We have been asked to file written addresses before the adjourned date for arguments.”

It would be recalled that the 23 aggrieved members of the Senator Magnus Abe led faction of the state APC who are the respondents in the appeal before the Appellate Court had requested President of the Appeal Court to set up a special panel to handle the matter, an appeal that was granted by the President of the Appeal Court.