The All Progressives Congress (APC) Rivers State chapter has denied that the 27 troubled Rivers State House of Assembly members defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
Speaking during a press conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, APC state chairman Tony Okocha stated that the lawmakers had never officially joined the party, despite widespread rumors.
According to reports, Okocha stated that the December 2023 event at the Port Harcourt Polo Club, which many mistook for a reception for defecting lawmakers, was actually a celebration of the APC’s state executive council’s inauguration.
Okocha denied receiving Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule and his colleagues into the APC, saying they just attended the Polo Club event as friends.
“There was no intention to organize a reception for what we were not holding,” Okocha told us.
“We were inaugurated in Abuja, so we decided to have a reception and thanksgiving for our members. “It was not to welcome the 27 lawmakers,” he explained.
He continued, “We were misconstrued as having admitted the 27 lawmakers to the APC. That’s not correct. We sent invitations to individual Assembly members. I have developed a friendship with them over time. We attempted to persuade them to join the party. I made an intentional effort to invite them to join us. We’d be overjoyed if we’d succeeded.”
Governor Fubara accused of violating court orders
Okocha also accused Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara of repeatedly breaking the rule of law, claiming that he refused to follow court orders.
He highlighted Justice James Omotosho’s Federal High Court decision, which awarded 15 reliefs to Amaewhule and his colleagues but was reportedly ignored by the Governor.
“We are disappointed by the Governor’s contempt for the rule of law. Justice James Omotosho granted 15 reliefs in his decision, but the governor has failed to follow them,” he stated.
Okocha criticized the governor’s presentation of the 2024 state budget, claiming that Fubara had no legal authority to deliver it to a ‘three-man Assembly.’
“The state cannot be operated without an annual budget. But the governor is doing so.
“You cannot offer a budget to a three-man assembly. The Appeal Court referred to it as a ‘forum,'” Okocha stated, referring to the state legislature’s dilemma.
He asked both sides to respect the Supreme Court’s decision when it is finally reached.
“We wish that both parties in the case should be courageous enough to heed the outcome of the Supreme Court judgment when the time comes,” Okocha had said.
