The All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership in Rivers State has formally rejected the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who had previously declared their defection to the party.
Naija News reports that the group of legislators, headed by Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule were initially elected to the Assembly on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before announcing their shift to the APC.
Their defection was attributed to the ongoing conflict between the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
On Monday, Rivers APC caretaker committee chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, asserted that the 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike do not hold membership in the APC.
Okocha made these remarks while speaking to reporters in Port Harcourt, the capital of the state.
He said: “At some point, I don’t get it; the House of Assembly members have said over and over again that they are not members of the All Progressives Congress and I confirm to you that they are not.
“What we are doing with them is to woo them to come and join us because we discovered that they were having their own internal crisis in their party.
“I am speaking to you in all authority that they never defected to the All Progressives Congress. There is no record. At least I am in charge; it would have been a joy for me if they had come over. They didn’t.”
Okocha explained further the outcome of the just-concluded governorship election in Edo State, stating that the party was poised towards taking over Rivers and Delta States in 2027, adding that at the fullness of time, APC will control all the six states in the South-South geopolitical zone.
Okocha added: “I will begin by thanking God Almighty who made it possible for all our endeavours in Edo State to come to pass. We are grateful to Mr. President and every other person who made sure that our party won the Edo governorship election.
“We are sure we are going to replicate what happened in Edo I’m Rivers and Delta States in 2027. At the fullness of time, the South-South Zone will have governors from the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
The APC caretaker committee chairman labelled the upcoming October 5, 2024, state local government election as a deliberate effort to show disrespect and ignore the judiciary and legal system of the country, noting that the party has filed a lawsuit to halt the election.
Okocha, who serves as the Rivers State member on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), mentioned that the current situation in the state indicates that the local government election might not take place as planned.
He said: “The proposed local government election is another attempt to disrespect and disregard the Courts and laws of the land. The matter is before the Court and we are in Court.
“The environment in the state does not show that there will be any local government election in the state in the next one week. The governor should stop deceiving the people of the state.
“He knows that it is impossible for the local government election to hold when the matter surrounding the conduct of the election is before the Court and the Court’s ruling on the matter has not been vacated.”