Court to decide fate of three Rivers LG Chairmen June 3

The outcome for the chairmen of three Rivers State local government areas will be determined on June 3, 2026, as the Rivers State High Court prepares to issue its judgment in a case that questions the legality of their appointments.

The local governments involved are Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni.

The lawsuit was filed by three dissatisfied members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State against the party’s factional state chairman, Aaron Chukwuemeka, the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), the PDP itself, and the Rivers State Government.

Justice Stephen Jumbo, the presiding judge in Port Harcourt, set the judgment date after counsel for the parties submitted their final written submissions on both the preliminary objections and the originating summons.

Although the Rivers State Government did not file any documents or submit an address in the case, the court had earlier granted the plaintiffs an extension of time.

The claimants—Enyi Uchechukwu, Wisdom Kalio and Uche Amadi—ask the court to decide whether the Chukwuemeka‑led PDP state executive, whose previous congresses were nullified by the court, had the legal authority to submit a list of candidates to RSIEC for the recently concluded local government elections.

They also seek the court’s interpretation on whether the PDP validly submitted candidates to RSIEC through the Chukwuemeka‑led executive, thereby allowing the party’s candidates to participate in the August 30, 2025, local government elections.