The chairman of the Rivers state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Tony Okocha has dismissed insinuations from some quarters that the 27 embattled lawmakers of the state House of Assembly defected from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to his party , despite numerous evidence.
Okocha said he never received the former lawmakers into the APC, saying that what happened at the Port Harcourt Polo Club in December 2023 was not a reception for the 27 lawmakers but an event to celebrate the constitution of the state executive council of the APC by the national body of the party.
Recall that in December 2023 at Polo Club, Rt. Hon Martin Amaewhule said he and 26 other lawmakers had completed the process of their defection, adding that one of the major reasons for their action was that “we have evidence that there is division in the party (PDP) and at the appropriate time, we will make it public”.
Addressing Journalists at the APC secretariat in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Okocha corrected the impression that he invited the lawmakers individually as friends for the 2023 event and not as Assembly members. “There was no intention to organize a reception for what we were not holding. We were inaugurated in Abuja and we chose to organize a reception and thanksgiving for our members. It was not to receive the 27 lawmakers”, he said.
“We were misinterpreted to have received the 27 lawmakers into APC. That is not correct. We invited individual members of the Assembly. I have a relationship with them over time. We tried to woo them into the party. I was intentional in reaching out to them to join us. We would have counted it all joy if we had succeeded.
“We want to tell Nigerians that the 27 lawmakers led by the Rt. Hon Martins Amaewhule never defected to the All Progressives Congress. What people flaunt on social media or television cannot put plausible arguments for them. The law is not about emotions. It is as strict as it is”, Okocha stated.
He accused the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara of infracting the rule of law at all times. “The era of strong man mentality is gone. The law has taken its place. There is no way a High Court can sit in judgment over a superior court of Appeal. It is not done. It is a pity that senior lawmakers in this country will now come out to misinterpret the court judgment”.
Okocha accused the Governor of exhibiting dictatorial tendencies by his refusal to obey the court judgment which authorized him to re-present the 2024 budget before the Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule led the House of Assembly.
“We are disenchanted by the disrespect to the rule of law by the Governor. Justice James Omotosho granted 15 reliefs in his judgment but the governor has refused to obey them. You cannot run the state without an annual budget. But the governor is doing so. You cannot present a budget before a 3-man Assembly. The Appeal Court called it a forum”, he said.
Okocha wished that both parties in the case should be courageous enough to “heed the outcome of the Supreme Court judgment” when the time comes.
