The Obio-Akpor, Port Harcourt City, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Councils, as well as their Vice Chairmen and Councillors, have been ordered by a Rivers State High Court to appear in court and provide justification for why their elections should not be declared void.
In a lawsuit brought by three Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders, Justice Stephen Jumbo granted the decision after adding Gift Worlu, the Chairman of Obio-Akpor LGA, and fifty-nine other people as the second set of respondents.
Prior to postponing the hearing until March 17, 2026, Justice Jumbo granted the claimants’ attorney Glory Chizim-Chinda’s request for substituted service, directing that the court documents be delivered to the PDP State Secretariat on Aba Road.
The State factional PDP Chairman, Aaron Chukwuemeka, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), the PDP, and the Rivers State Government are being contested by the claimants, Enyi Uchechukwu, Wisdom Kalio, and Uche Amadi, regarding the nomination of PDP Chairmen, their deputies, and council members for the most recent council elections.
They contend that Chukwuemeka’s state executive was not authorized to submit candidate names to RSIEC for the August 30, 2025 elections since the Rivers State High Court had earlier invalidated his election.
The plaintiffs are requesting a court ruling that the PDP’s Ward, LGA, and State elective congresses that took place between July 27 and August 10, 2024, are invalid and that Chukwuemeka, as a result of these invalidated congresses, lacked the legal authority to hold primaries or submit candidate lists.
Additionally, they are asking for a permanent injunction that would prohibit the defendants or anybody working on their behalf from meddling in PDP internal matters, such as the nomination and presentation of candidates for elected office.
