May 18, (THEWILL) — The Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has fixed June 3, 2026, for judgment in a suit challenging the legality of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) executive that submitted candidates for the 2025 local government elections in the state.
Justice Stephen Jumbo adjourned the matter for judgment after counsel representing parties in the suit adopted their final written addresses on both the originating summons and preliminary objections.
The suit directly affects the emergence of chairmen in three key Local Government Areas (Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni), whose elections are being challenged over the legitimacy of the PDP structure that sponsored them.
The action was instituted by three aggrieved PDP members in Rivers State (Enyi Uchechukwu, Wisdom Kalio and Uche Amadi) against the factional state chairman of the party, Aaron Chukwuemeka, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), the PDP and the Rivers State Government.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether the Chukwuemeka-led state executive committee of the PDP had the legal authority to submit candidates to RSIEC for the August 30, 2025 local government elections.
According to the claimants, the congresses that produced the Chukwuemeka-led executive had earlier been nullified by the court, thereby raising questions about the legality of subsequent actions taken by the faction, including the nomination and submission of candidates for the council elections.
They are also seeking the court’s interpretation on whether the PDP validly sponsored candidates through the disputed executive, enabling them to participate in the elections conducted by RSIEC.
During proceedings, lawyers representing the parties adopted their written addresses, following which Justice Jumbo reserved judgment till June 3.
Although listed as a defendant in the matter, the Rivers State Government neither filed any process nor adopted any address before the court.
However, the court had earlier granted an application for extension of time filed by the plaintiffs to regularise certain processes in the suit.
The case is widely viewed as politically significant because of the strategic importance of the affected local government areas, particularly Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City, which remain major political strongholds in Rivers State.
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