Erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze has called on the state leadership of APC to prevail on Rivers Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to join the ruling party amidst strong rumor that the Governor is considering dumping the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for another party.
The APC chieftain made the call Tuesday in a statement he issued in Port Harcourt while reacting to the judgment of a State High Court in Port Harcourt, which affirmed the position of Chief Emeka Beke and his team as the lawfully recognized State Chairman and Executive Committee members respectively of the APC in the state.
Recall that in November 2023, the National Working Committee of the APC, purportedly announced through its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Moka, the dissolution of the State Executive Council of the Party in Rivers State and constituted a 7-man caretaker committee headed by Tony Okocha, former Chief of Staff in the administration of former Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi.
The development was widely perceived as a plot to handover the leadership of the Rivers APC and other party structures in the state to the FCT Minister and former Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike.
However, dissatisfied by the action of the APC’s NWC, Chief Emeka Beke, an ally of Rt. Hon. Barr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and his team of elected State Executive Committee filed a suit seeking the court’s intervention over their unjust dissolution.
In a judgment delivered Monday by Justice Sika Aprioku of Rivers State High court on the case, he ruled that the appointment of Tony Okocha and six others as caretaker committee of the party in the state was unjustifiable and in gross violation of the constitution of the APC, noting that there was no valid reason for the NWC to dissolve the democratically elected state executive committee led by Chief Emeka Beke, whose four-year term still subsists.
Eze highlighted further that Justice Aprioku issued a perpetual injunction against the Okocha-led caretaker committee and reinstated the Chief Emeka Beke-led executive as the authentic executive of the party in the state.
The APC chieftain commended the court for restraining the national leadership of the APC from further recognizing the Okocha-led executive and compelled them to henceforth begin to recognize the Beke-led elected executive
Eze pleaded with the National Working Committee of the party to respect the Court judgment and accord the Beke’s Exco all the necessary support to move the party forward
He also expressed gladness on how the court slammed the “unprincipled” Independent National Electoral Commission, for supporting the dissolution of democratically elected executives of the APC, cautioning that leadership of political parties must learn to obey their own constitution and stop acting recklessly and in impunity in managing their own party.
Eze further pleaded with the Beke led State Exco to formally formalize the membership of the erstwhile state lawmakers led by Martins Amaewhule who had announced their defection to the party.
According to Eze, “the court verdict has sent shock waves down the spines of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and his collaborators at the APC National Working Committee as there trajectory of bribing judicial officers failed in the situation”.
Describing the verdict as a victory for the entire Rivers State and a disgrace to all undemocratic forces within and outside Rivers State Eze called on the Governor of Rivers State to leverage the court judgment to align with the party and its development objectives to realign the state on a better pedestal.
On the threat by Tony Okocha to appeal the judgment, Eze said such threat is “the Joke of the year as this is just a step of a drowning man looking for anything to hold on as his dubious means of duping Nyesom Wike and the party leadership for funds to continue to carry out his dubious activities in Rivers State using the name of the party has come to an end”
He urged all and sundry to keep faith with Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi whom he stated is the undisputed Leader of APC in the entire Niger Delta region.
He also called on security agencies to keep Tony Okocha and company at bay and be on the lookout for their arrest should they parade themselves as caretaker committee of Rivers APC going forward.
