…Says APC is not carried along
By: Felix Ikpotor
Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha has insisted that the October 5, 2024 proposed date for local council polls in Rivers State would not hold.
Okocha, who stated this at a stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt said the processes leading to the proposed election is illegal and not in tandem with the relevant laws guiding conduct of local government laws in the state.
Okocha also alleged that his party was sideline in the planning, stressing that they have approached a court of competent jurisdiction to halt the process.
“The topical issue to be discussed is the issue of is APC contesting elections on the 5th of October.
“We are in court and I won’t speak on any matter that’s in court. The much I can say to you is that, that course of action is to restrain the agencies that would conduct that election that they announced behind us.
“We were not part of the decision for an election on the 5th of October. We had gone on air 19th of January to tell the RSIEC chairman and the commission itself to commence the process of having elections. At that time, it was still within the armbits of the law of the state because the law says three months to the expiration of the tenures of the council that the electoral body should organise election, the process should commence, timetable released and all that and twenty one days inside that three months, elections should hold.
“My dear people, what they are doing now as we speak and 5th of October as they are talking about will not work. It will not work. You can’t go and conduct local government elections in Rivers State without a party like the APC,” Okocha stated.
Okocha explained further that even though the party has the strength to contest and win the elections, but won’t do so until the processes are fair to all parties.
“There was a day they said they had stakeholders meeting. I was not invited. The APC Rivers State was not invited to the stakeholders meeting where the decision for October 5th elections was taken.
“So we cannot participate in that because there was a deliberate plan to axe us and make us worthless. So we went to court. We are not saying we won’t contest elections for those of you who they may have told that, that’s not our contention.
“Our contention is until the processes that have been put in place or they want to put in place is in tandem with the law first and then we as a party, we are carried along in the entire arrangement we won’t participate.
“Let me tell you the reason we went to court is not because we don’t have the number or we don’t have the strength. I can assure you and you know by yourself that we have men and women, caterpillars and bulldozers that can contest all the elections and win.
“We are saying that the processes should be seen to be transparent so that we don’t just go and work on hurdle thorns,” he stated.
Okocha alleged that the process for the elections was already skewed and as such won’t allow his party people to waste their resources in such an election.
He said: ” I know that that election will not represent the interest or opinion of those who would vote. It is already stereotyped, the handout has already been written.
“We won’t accept that. I won’t expose you to that kind of trauma where you go and spend your money, even if we say we are going to assist you, some of you would sell land, some of you would sell house, some of you will do everything possible to generate funds and then we know that that fund you’re generating for that election will go into the dungeon, do you think that we should allow it?”
He urged party members to be rest assured that the leadership of the party is not sleeping over the matter.
On the issue of the court judgement which returned the Chief Emeka Beke-led executives into office, Okocha said the party has appealed the judgement while a notice of stay of execution has been served on them.
“On the other side like the noise you hear is that a court in Rivers State had given judgement to the Emeka Beke-led EXCO. We are law abiding, we won’t fight the court. It is their decision. Our happiness is that it is court of first instance.
” Let me assure you that we have filed a notice of appeal and served on them. The lawyer also told me that he has served notice of stay of execution and what is more; the people who own the party first embarrassed by the things they are hearing, had a long drawn meeting and in that meeting, they took a decision which was relayed to Nigeria and the world. They said that they recognise Tony Okocha and the caretaker committee members.
“So that’s the position. We have heard many times that party is supreme so the party has spoken.
Just go home and sleep with your two eyes closed. This thing we are holding, we are holding it very strong. We would not allow anybody to drag us into opposition again,” Okocha maintained.
Meanwhile, former Chairman of the APC in the State, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree who spoke at the event, urged the Emeka Beke-led executives of the party to accept their situation in good fate, adding that no court order can reverse the decision of the National Working Committee of the party
He said, “You know, as once the Chief Executive of this Party, the head of this party (APC) in Rivers State and what is happening now happened to me. You know, as chairman of this party, we had crisis under my leadership as well, we had the Magnus Abe faction then Tony Okocha was on the other side.
“So we had all those issues and at some point in time, the National Working Committee of our party looked at the whole scenario in Rivers State and decided that we can’t be having all of these problems and for that reason, they are going to dissolve my executives and appoint Caretaker Committee. Did it not happen? I took it in good fate and went to my house.
“You know that Emeka Beke was my secretary then, so I know him very well, he knows that the highest body in this party is the NWC, that is why when I was told that my executives have been dissolved, I supported the appointed caretaker committee as a true party man and somebody who loves this party. That is what I expect my brother and former secretary to do also, this his antics won’t work.
“So my job here is to encourage you people and to say you are on the right track, the National Working Committee of the party has said it’s Tony Okocha that is our chairman, there is nothing more to say, even if you like go to United Nations and bring a court judgment, it won’t work.”
