By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT—Hopes of All Progressives Congress, APC, to present a governorship candidate in next year’s general election faded further, yesterday, as Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, struck out the appeal by  APC in the state, challenging the decision of the state high court, which annulled its ward, local government and state congresses.

The court also dismissed applications for joinder by the governorship candidate of the  APC, in the state, Mr Tonye Cole, and sacked Chairman of the APC in the state, Mr  Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, for not observing the 14 days rule of appeal.

It will be recalled that Justice Chiwendu Nworgu of Rivers State High Court had annulled all the congresses of the APC in the state, which produced Flag-Amachree and other excos in the state.

The special appeal panel set up to hear the matter between the two factions of the APC in the state led by Justice Abubakar Yahaya gave the ruling after the parties adopted their processes.

Yahaya, who read the unanimous decision, said the applications of Cole and Amachree lacked merit and that the appeal against the lower court’s decision was filed out of time.

He reserved judgment in the appeal by the APC challenging the jurisdiction of Justice Nworgu to hear the matter in the first place, indefinitely.

The court held that the Ojukaye faction failed to seek leave of court before appealing against the judgement, adding that the judgement delivered by the lower court was a consent judgement.

Justice Yahaya said Flag-Amachree faction should have done the needful legally before approaching the court, even as he expressed sadness that the parties in the matter were all members of APC in the state.