Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker committee in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, on Sunday vowed that the party would continue to criticize Governor Siminalai Hubara.
Mr. Okocha disclosed this while speaking at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) forum in Abuja.
He said: “As the opposition party in Rivers, it is the responsibility of APC to checkmate the activities of the state government.
“Our position as opponents of the virus in Rivers is to first represent the voiceless in society through constructive criticism and point out gray areas to the state government.
“In doing so, we will deprive Governor Semirye Hubala and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of the market. We will destroy the opposition parties in the state and ensure a smooth victory in the 2027 elections. It is our dream to achieve this.”
“We should not praise the PDP in Rivers State. If we do, we will not be able to win elections in the state.
“Our main job is to criticize the government constructively and that is what gives us fame. Otherwise, we inherited APC which was a social club and not a political party. is.”
He explained that it became so because the immediate past Labor Minister Rotimi Amaechi, who was the Rivers party leader, customized and colonized it.
He said the APC’s hope is that the opposition party will be weakened so that it can smoothly come to power in the 2027 presidential elections.
Mr Okocha said: “We cannot allow them to grow stronger and we cannot hope that they will come back united and strong as Labor did against Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the 2023 presidential election. “I’m not going to close my eyes and watch.”
Commenting on the Federal High Court’s dismissal of the suit seeking to replace the 27 pro-Wike members, Okocha said they were not members of the APC as claimed.
He stressed that there is no evidence that councilors are registered as APC members even at the ward level.
“They didn’t join us. I tried to convince them and did more to get them to join us. I begged them, but they told us Did not participate.
“I say this as the APC Rivers Interim Committee Chairman, but it is clear that they did not join us.
“Let those who say they have joined us show us the evidence. The law is not about emotions, it is about concrete facts,” Okocha said.
He called on those who claim the lawmakers defected to the APC to produce proof of membership registration and membership cards to support their claims in court.
The pro-Wike MP is said to have defected from PDP to APC on December 12, 2023.
The court held that the suit filed by the Action People’s Party (APP) and marked FHC/ABJ/CR/978/2024 was time-barred because it was not filed within the 14 days allowed by law. The judgment was held.
The alleged defection was said to have taken place on December 12, 2023, but APP filed the first summons on July 12, 2024.
The party had, among other things, asked the court to authorize the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare parliamentary seats vacant and to hold by-elections.
