The All Progressive Congress, APC, in Rivers State led by Chief Tony Okocha has vowed that it will oppose the State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara over the proposed local government elections scheduled to hold this Saturday in the state.
The Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, had fixed this Saturday, October 5, 2024 for the conduct of the 2024 local government elections following the expiration of the elected Council Chairmen in the state in June.
But controversy has continued to trail the proposed election with conflicting High Court judgements, after the Okocha-led APC had file a suit against the conduct of the election, citing illegalities on the side of the RSIEC and the state government, adding that they were not carried along during the decision making process for the exercise.
On Monday, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja headed by Justice Peter Lifu, barred the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from releasing voters’ register to the RSIEC for the conduct of the council polls. While Justice I. P. C. Igwe of a Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt on his part, ordered RSIEC to go ahead with the election using the 2023 voters’ register.
Despite the controversy, RSIEC Chairman, retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli has assured that the election will hold as planned this Saturday, October 5, 2024.
Briefing Journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, the APC’s NWC-backed Caretaker Chairman of the party in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha said, the proposed October 5 LG elections is illegal, following RSIEC’s refusal to adhere to the necessary legal requirements, including the 90-day notice mandated by law.
Chief Okocha accused Governer Siminalayi Fubara of drifting the state to a state of lawlessness with his alleged disobedience to court orders, and that the APC cannot allow that to continue to happen in the state.
Okocha said, “Rivers State is drifting to a state of lawlessness because of flagrant impunity and impunities of one man who is self-seeking.
“The governor of Rivers State has rule and continued to rule this state with impunities. The governor is at the verge of adopting a self-right approach at the staggering of all of us in Rivers State.
“Am worried, because reading through philosophers of note, you will hear one of them saying that in a state of anarchy, it becomes illegal to be law abiding.
“As members of the APC, we have exhausted all the legal means, and we will not stand akimbo, watch him drift this state to abissmal oblivion by the reason of trying to push across, his personal idiosyncrasies.
“APC is a party in government at the centre and we need to let our party, the president and members of the national assembly know our plight. Should we submit to an attempt to envelope APC in Rivers State, or concede to the deliberate attempt by one man to annihilate APC in Rivers State? The answer is no.”
He criticized the governor’s visit to the RSIEC office to give orders to the electoral body on the proposed exercise, describing it as an act of desperation and ridiculous.
Okocha said, instead of the Rivers State Government and RSIEC to go to appeal Court to upturn the judgment of Justice Peter Lifu, they decided to toe the part of illegality.
He said, “under what law is this local government election going to hold. What is the appropriation and who appropriated the funds for the local government elections to hold? So, you see illegality and impunities on this.
“Seeing the level of desperation of the Governor, after the judgment of the Federal High Court got to him on Monday, he drove straight to RSIEC office to tell them that they should continue with the election process and to say that if they see any security agency there that he will deal with them. That he is both the governor of the state and Chairman of RSIEC.
“If the governor is the chairman of RSIEC, does it not confirm that we can’t be comfortable contesting the same election he is interested in delivering his interest? Shall we take this absurd and when will it end?
“We will not sit down and watch the governor drift this state to lawlessness. We are bonafide citizens of Rivers State, and we also have the same right and privileges anyone else can decide to have.”
Okocha said, “APC is eligible and ready to contest elections, but not under this circumstance, and the court has agreed with us that the processes were flawed and that election under that scenario will be a charade, and that’s where we stand.
“We are here as a party and it’s representatives to say that we will not accept this impunity and we draw the attention of these agencies responsible for this. We want the media to tell the world that we will oppose the governor’s planned impunity,” he said.
