Headlines
PDP Clears Rivers LG Poll, Opposition Kicks
Despite withdrawing from the ballot, the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State was allotted votes in Saturday’s Local Government Elections conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission.
Meanwhile, the People Democratic Party won all chairmanship and councillorship seats across the local government areas of the state.
The RSIEC Chairman, Justice George Omerejji (retd.), declared the results at the commission’s office in Port Harcourt on Sunday evening.
In some of the results announced, Omerejji declared the PDP winner of the Ahoada East Chairmanship contest with 35,483 votes, even as it also won the 13 wards of the LGA for the councillorship polls.
However, the APC that did not take part in the election got 84 votes.
Also, Omereji declared Dr Chidi Lloyd of the PDP the winner of the Emohua chairmanship seat with 93,980 votes, as the commission also declared the PDP winner of the 14 councillorship seat in the LGA.
In Etche, the PDP won the Etche chairmanship seat with 27, 883 votes and cleared the 18 seats of the wards, even as the party won the Gokana LGA chairmanship seat with 54,578 votes.
In Bonny LGA, the PDP won the chairmanship seat with 18,408 votes and swept all the 12 wards councillorship seats.
The party also won Asari Toru chairmanship with 63,727 votes and won all the 13 councillorship seats.
Mr Rowland Sekibo of the PDP won Akuku-Toru with 54, 883 votes for chairmanship while APC got 1.
Meanwhile, some opposition political parties accused RSIEC of bias and called for outright the cancellation of the poll.
They specifically all for cancellation of Ward 11, Abalama in Asari-Toru local government area of the state.
Candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Derego West told newsmen that RSIEC officials arrived the 31 polling units in the ward with fake result sheets.
This is as the Agent of the African Democratic Congress, Bestman Esperience, said, “There was no election because they refuse us to vote. PDP hijacked the result sheets in Analama, Ward 11.
But an agent of the PDP, Ofori Brown faulted the claims of rigging, saying the election was peaceful.
“I am a unit head, unit 8 and former coordinator for Governor Nyesom Wike. The election was peaceful and all is over. Everything was peaceful and they took the materials to the headquatwr in Buguma,” Brown added.
The Punch
The Supreme Court has vacated the order of the Court of Appeal which barred the recognition of David Mark as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
The apex court on Thursday held that the preservative order by the Court of Appeal was in bad faith, unnecessary, unwarranted and improper.
In a unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court, Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba held that the Court of Appeal ought not to have made such order because it was not sought by any of the parties in the matter.
The Court of Appeal had issued an order of status quo antem bellum upon which the ADC exco under David Mark was de-recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
With the vacation of the order, David Mark and the other national officers are to be recognized as ADC leaders by the electoral body.
The convention produced the Tanimu Turaki-led factional national executives of the party.
Attention has shifted to the Supreme Court, which has fixed April 30 (today) for judgment in the leadership tussle within the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
A five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba will resolve the appeal filed by the David Mark-led faction concerning the authentic leadership of the party.
Also on Thursday, the court is expected to determine the leadership dispute rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Two PDP factions—one led by Kabir Turaki and the other by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike—are laying claim to the leadership of the party.
The Supreme Court had on April 22 reserved judgment in the ADC crisis to a date to be communicated to the parties involved in the tussle.
However, on Tuesday, the ADC formally wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, pleading for the quick delivery of judgment in the leadership tussle at the national level.
The party claimed it would suffer irreparable harm if judgment in the protracted battle was not delivered within the period allowed by the Electoral Act for fielding candidates for the 2027 general elections.
It stated in part: “Without the delivery of judgment within the next three days from the date of this letter, the ADC stands the grave and irreversible risk of being excluded from participating in the 2027 general elections.
“This would disenfranchise millions of Nigerians who have subscribed to the ideals of the ADC and deny them their constitutional right to freely associate and contest elections through a political party of their choice.”
At the April 22 hearing, Jibrin Okutepa, SAN, who represented David Mark, urged the Supreme Court to allow the appeal, arguing that the apex court had earlier, on March 21, 2025, held that “no court has jurisdiction to entertain matters bordering on the internal affairs of political parties.”
During the hearing, Okutepa urged the apex court to hold that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
However, Robert Emukperu, SAN, who represented the first respondent, Nafiu Gombe, urged the court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the lower court, which held that the suit was premature.
It will be recalled that a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal dismissed Mark’s appeal, ruling that it was premature and filed without leave of the trial court.
In the PDP matter, the first appeal, marked SC/CV/164/2026, stems from a decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who restrained the party from proceeding with its planned convention pending the determination of a suit filed by former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido.
On November 14, the court issued a final order restraining the PDP from conducting its national convention.
Justice Lifu held that Lamido was “unjustly denied” the opportunity to obtain a nomination form to contest for national chairman, in violation of the PDP constitution and internal regulations.
The Court of Appeal later upheld the decision on March 9, prompting the PDP to appeal.
The second appeal, SC/CV/166/2026, was filed by the PDP, its National Working Committee (NWC), and National Executive Committee (NEC).
It arose from a judgment delivered by Justice James Omotosho, which stopped the party from holding its Ibadan national convention.
The Court of Appeal upheld that decision, agreeing that INEC should not validate the outcome of the convention.
After hearing all arguments, the Supreme Court reserved judgment, stating that the date would be communicated to the parties.
