The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RISIEC) of disregarding a subsisting court judgment validating the party leadership under Chief Emeka Beke, warning that any candidate list not authorised by him is “a nullity” and will attract contempt proceedings.
Speaking in Port Harcourt on behalf of the state APC, Publicity Secretary Darlington Nwauju said the party had, through its lawyers, written to RISIEC on August 5, 2025, drawing the commission’s attention to a court ruling affirming the legitimacy of the Beke-led State Working Committee. The letter, he said, also warned the electoral body against recognising any other faction in the build-up to the August 30 local government elections.
According to Nwauju, RISIEC acknowledged receipt of the letter and the attached judgment but “chose to flagrantly disregard, disobey and disrespect” the court’s decision by dealing with “persons unknown to law” in the name of the APC. He described the commission’s defence—that it only works with names submitted by political parties—as an “administrative disaster” that undermines transparency and the rule of law.
He stressed that Article 13(9) of the APC constitution, amended in May 2022, empowers the State Working Committee to organise, coordinate, and nominate candidates for local government elections. He maintained that only lists endorsed by Chief Beke and State Secretary Hon. Sampson are valid, adding that the party has duly nominated chairmanship candidates for all 23 local government areas.
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“This is a caveat emptor—do not deal with any other person outside the leadership of Chief Emeka Beke,” Nwauju warned. “Any attempt to do otherwise amounts to contempt of court and will attract enforcement proceedings.”
The APC spokesperson also called on the party’s National Working Committee, led by Prof. Abdullahi Ganduje’s successor, to respect the court order and resist attempts to portray the APC as a “lawless party.” He urged the national leadership to unite the party in Rivers State, insisting that the Beke-led executive remains intact and legally recognised until the end of its tenure.
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Nwauju further criticised RISIEC for, in his words, “jumping into the arena of politics” by interfering in the internal affairs of political parties, stressing that its role is to monitor and not decide who parties’ candidates should be.
“With our candidates validly nominated across the 23 LGAs, any other list outside the one we have submitted is illegal and will not stand in law,” he concluded
