The Tony Okocha led All Progressives Congress (APC) says its members will not take part in the October 5 Local Government Election in Rivers State.
Okocha led Caretaker Committee (CTC) was recently sacked by a court of competent jurisdiction, which at the same time reinstated Emeka Beke led Rivers APC.
But despite the court order, stakeholders of Rivers APC at a meeting in Port Harcourt last week passed a vote of confidence on Okocha and the APC.
Tony Okocha at the meeting also restated that he remained the Chairman, Caretaker Committee, Rivers APC, having been reaffirmed as such by the National Working Committee of the party.
He also disclosed that the party had filed an appeal to challenge the lower court’s decision.
Speaking at the stakeholders meeting which had in attendance Rivers APC political bigwigs, including Elder Chidi Wihioka and Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, among others, Okocha gave reasons why the APC he leads will not participate in LG elections scheduled to hold on the 5th of October in the state.
One of the reasons he stated, was that his group was not invited to the stakeholders meeting where the decisions for the LG elections were taken.
“We were not part of the decision for an election on the 5th of October. We had gone on air 19th 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 ambits 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 organize election, the process should commence, timetable released and 21 days inside the three months, elections should hold,” Okocha said.
He also expressed fears that the election will not be transparent, as according to him, the processes put in place was not in tandem with the law.
“Our contention is that 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.”
Okocha doubted whether the election will hold on the 5th of October as proposed, because the party had gone to court to obtain a restraining order against it.
“We are in court, and I won’t speak on any matter that is in court. The much I can say to you is that, that course of action is to restrain the agencies that would conduct the election that they announced behind us,” he stated.
This stand is however contrary to the assurance given by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Hon. Joe Johnson that the election would hold on the 5th of October unfailingly.
Joe Johnson speaking in a Nig. Info programme where Tony Okocha also featured, said the Rivers LG election would hold on 5th of October as scheduled, stressing that nothing would stop it.
Another person who spoke at Rivers APC stakeholders meeting was the former chairman of APC in Rivers, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree who urged Emeka Beke to accept the decision of the National Leadership and support Tony Okocha led CTC.
He disclosed that when he was APC chairman in the state, they dissolved them and appointed caretaker, he did not fight anybody, but went home quietly. He advised Emeka Beke to toe the same line. At the meeting which lasted for hours, the Rivers APC stakeholders passed a vote of confidence on President Tinubu, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike and the Senate President, Godswin Akpabio.
