Eshioromeh Sebastian
The All Progressives Congress in Ondo State is on a direct collision course with the judiciary after the party’s leadership vowed to proceed with its state congress on Tuesday, despite a clear restraining order from a Federal High Court.
The court, sitting in Akure, the state capital, had on Monday issued an interim injunction barring the party from holding the exercise.
In her ruling, Justice Toyin Adegoke also nullified the ward and local government congresses conducted by the APC on February 18 and 21, 2026, respectively.
However, in a defiant response, the National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the party, Mr. Isaacs Kekemeke, insisted that the congress would go ahead as planned, claiming the party hierarchy was yet to be officially notified of any court order.
“I’m a lawyer. I don’t rely on social media for information. The national headquarters of the party has yet to notify me as a zonal chairman or inform the congress committee that they have received any document. There is no directive from the national headquarters”, Kekemeke stated
He added, “I told you we are a party of law and order. If we have instructions or directives from the national secretariat, it will be obeyed.”
The legal action was triggered by aggrieved members of the party. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adedayo Adedeji, filed an ex parte application on behalf of Lawrence Adebayo and 7,427 other party members, listing the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission as defendants.
In her ruling, Justice Adegoke restrained INEC from acknowledging, accepting, or giving effect to the already-conducted ward and local government congresses, as well as the proposed state congress.
She ordered both respondents to maintain the status quo ante bellum—the situation that existed before the disputed exercises—and warned against any action that could prejudice the hearing of the substantive suit.
The defiance from the party comes against a backdrop of violence that has marred the build-up to the congress.
Reports indicate that the ward congress in Idanre Local Government Area turned bloody, resulting in the death of two persons, with several others injured.
The state police command confirmed the incident and arrested 13 suspects in connection with the violence.
Just a day before the Idanre incident, the party’s Akure secretariat was attacked by thugs, during which the state chairman, Ade Adetimehin, was reportedly assaulted.
Despite the court ruling and the recent unrest, the APC’s Ondo State Publicity Secretary, Mr. Alex Kalejaye, released a statement on Monday insisting that the congress had been duly approved by the party’s National Working Committee and inviting statutory delegates and stakeholders to the exercise.
As of press time, tension remains high in Ondo State, with party loyalists and security agencies watching to see whether the party will indeed go through with the congress in direct defiance of a court order.
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