The Acting Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Dr. Tony Okocha, who contested the last Rivers State governorship election against Mr. Siminarayi Hubala of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said those fighting against the governor revealed that.
According to a report by TheNewsGuru.com (TNG), Dr. Okocha, while speaking to reporters in Abuja on Thursday, spoke out against the Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by Governor Hubala to investigate local government arson cases in the state. It is said that he was
“The Judicial Commission of Inquiry investigating the local government office bombing is nothing short of a witch hunt. The governor simply wants to use it to deal with his perceived enemies,” Okocha told reporters.
Recall that Mr. Hubala recently inaugurated a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate arson, killings and vandalism at various local government council offices in the state. The seven-member committee has one month to complete its mandate, with Justice Ibiwengi Minakiri as its chairperson and Mrs. Yingi Brown as its secretary.
The investigation will investigate the attack and arson of the local government council’s office on October 7, 2024, shortly after newly elected local government officials took office.
While condemning the governor’s actions, Mr. Okocha said there was no sincerity in it, saying, “The said election itself is illegal and therefore invalid. The governor knows the people who attacked the local government secretariat. “If he knows the people, why would he ask the police to arrest them? Why would he set up a judicial commission of inquiry?”
Okocha said he would take the investigation seriously if it extended to all the past arson cases in the state.
“If the governor really wants justice, the commission’s terms of reference must be comprehensive. All issues related to the bombing should be investigated. The Capitol bombing should be investigated.
“We also want the APC state headquarters bombing to be investigated. We don't want selective probes. We want to see a real search for justice. All of the arson cases. Let us create a complete package with a case. That is the only way the Rivers administration can deliver justice,” he said.
On whether he would attend the commission if invited, Mr Okocha said he would attend the commission “if it were to investigate all the arson incidents in Rivers”.
“Yes, I will appear before the commission if all the arson cases in Rivers are included in the mandate of the commission,” he said.
Okocha regretted that the state had become a “river of trouble” and blamed the situation on “the people who are supposed to protect everyone”.
“The governor is supposed to be the chief legal officer, but he has failed in his important duties. We have a valid court judgment that has suspended local government elections.
“It is that judgment that stopped the police, security agencies and INEC from participating in the elections. Strangely, despite everything, the governor went ahead with the elections. Therefore, it is clearly invalid.”
On the cause of Rivers’ political upheaval, Okocha declared, “Hubala is at war with himself.”
“The governor is fighting against himself. APC is just starting to get stronger now. We have never won an election in Rivers, so we were just a social club. PDP has three seats in the Senate and 12 in the House of Representatives. In addition to 32 seats in the state legislature, they also won the governor’s seat.
“So it’s one party fighting itself. The party was elected as MPs and what we’re getting is a problem,” he fumed.
He said 14 people were aspiring to rule the state on the PDP platform, but Mr Hubala, “the least of them”, clinched the ticket and became governor.
“It means he was given preferential treatment over others. People are angry because his favors were ignored. They are the ones who are fighting him,” Okocha said.
The APC chairman expressed optimism that the contest between Hubala and the party would turn in APC’s favor in 2027.
“As the crisis worsens, there is no project bearing Hubala’s name. He has done nothing for Rivers residents for nearly two years. As a vigorous opposition party, we support the governor on many issues. “We want to strip him of his market so that he can win the seat in 2027,” he said.
Mr. Okocha said peace would have returned to Rivers State if Mr. Hubala had heeded President Bola Tinubu’s recommendations.
“When Rivers was about to get burned, President Tinubu stepped in and brokered peace. He suggested that all lawsuits should be dropped and the budget bill should be resubmitted to parliament.
“He also suggested that members of the House of Representatives should be given access to national politics. Mr. Hubala agreed, remembering telling the president that peace was precious but terrorism was meaningless. What I got after returning home was different.”
