The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has said it was already in Court to challenge the Executive Orders 21 and 22 of the Rivers State government, which placed some restrictions on the activities of political parties in the State.
Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike recently signed the Executive Order 21, which prohibits political parties from using public schools for campaigns without permission from the State’s Ministry of Education and payment of a non-refundable sum of N5 million.
The Order also stipulated that political parties must officially write to the Commissioner for Education requesting to use a public school for campaign rally two weeks before the event.
While Wike’s Executive Order 22 banned political parties from the use of buildings in residential areas as campaign offices.
But, speaking with journalists in Port Harcourt on Friday, spokesman of the APC Campaign Council in the State, Sogbeye Eli, said obeying the Executive Orders would amount to recognising irregularity.
Eli said: “Our party is not going to apply to anybody for use of public facilities for campaigns. That will amount to recognising irregularity. We have already approached the Court to challenge Executive Order 21 and 22. So, let the Court decide on that.”
He stated that the judgement of the Court of Appeal which upturned the judgement of the Federal High Court disqualifying APC candidates from the 2023 general election, has brought to nothing efforts of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to be the only political party that will be on the ballot during the elections.
The APC spokesman added: “We have brought you here to share time with you and tell you how happy we are that finally the Daniels have come to judgement.
“That those who had plotted to stop us and thereby deprive Rivers people the opportunity to exercise our freedom as enshrined in the constitution to freely elect our leaders whether as president or governor or representatives whether State Assembly or National Assembly have failed woefully.”
