The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Committee in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha, has said that the party will continue to constructively criticise the Gov. Siminalayi Fubara-led government in the interest of the people of the state.
Okocha, who stated this on Sunday in Abuja at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) news forum, said it was the responsibility of APC in Rivers to put Fubara’s administration in constant check.
“Our position as a vibrant opposition in Rivers is, first and foremost, to speak for the voiceless in the society via constructive criticisms and point out grey areas to the state government.
“By so doing, we are demarketing Gov. Siminalayi Fubara and his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“We are not expected to be applauding the PDP government in Rivers. Doing that means we won’t be able to win future elections in the state.
“Our business is to constructively criticise the government and that is what is giving us an edge; otherwise, we inherited an APC that was not a party but a social club,” Okocha said.
He said that this was so because Rotimi Amaechi, the immediate past Minister of Works, who was then the APC leader in Rivers, customised and colonised the party.
He said that APC’s desire was to see the ruling party and other opposition parties weakened so it could have a smooth sail in the 2027 general elections.
“We can’t allow them to be strong; we will not close our eyes and watch them become united so that they will come again with their forces, like the Labour Party did with Peter Obi, its presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election,” he said.
Speaking on the Federal High Court’s dismissal of a suit seeking to replace the pro-Wike 27 lawmakers, Okocha said they were not members of APC as was being insinuated.
He stated that there was no proof of the lawmakers’ registration as APC members, even at the ward level.
“They didn’t join us. I wooed them and did much more to get them to join us; I even begged them but they refused to join us.
“I am saying this as chairman of Rivers APC caretaker committee, clearly and without mincing words, that the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers are not our members.
“Let anyone saying they joined us show proof; the law is not about emotion but facts,” he said.
Okocha challenged those saying the lawmakers defected to APC to show proof of their registration as members and their membership cards to buttress their claims.
NAN reports that the pro-Wike lawmakers were reported to have defected from PDP to APC on Dec. 12, 2023.
The court held that the suit, instituted by the Action Peoples Party (APP) and marked FHC/ABJ/CR/978/2024, was statute-barred, as it was not filed within the 14 days allowed by law.
While the reported defection was said to have taken place on Dec. 12, 2023, APP filed its originating summons on July 12, 2024.
The party was requesting, among other things, that the court should empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the seats of the lawmakers vacant and conduct by-elections to replace them.
