Axed Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, has insisted that he remains the leader of the authentic executive in the state’s chapter of the party, despite a recent court ruling.
On Monday, Justice Sika Aprioku of the State High Court nullified the removal of Emeka Beke as APC Chairman and reinstated him. The court also invalidated the dissolution of the elected state working committee led by Beke by the national leadership under Umar Ganduje, which had appointed Peter Okocha as chairman of a caretaker committee. Additionally, the judge issued an order restraining Tony Okocha and his associates from presenting themselves as members of the APC executive in the South-South state.
In response, Okocha, speaking with journalists at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, criticised the judge’s ruling, claiming that the decision was flawed and constituted an abuse of the court process. He questioned the legality of the judgement, arguing, “What is the propriety of the judge in a judgement where he was making an order against the party, APC? APC was not a party in the suit. How do you bring somebody who is not a party into the suit and make an order that will affect the person? You know very well that this is an abnormality. They deliberately refused to include the APC.”
Okocha further contended that the exclusion of the APC from the suit was a deliberate move to prevent the case from being heard at the Federal High Court, where the outcome might have been different. He claimed, “The reason is that they know if they include APC in the suit, the matter can no longer go on at the High Court. It would have gone to the Federal High Court. They may not have had the grip of what they now do at the State High Court of Rivers State, which is the supermarket of the governor of Rivers State. He went there to file any order or judgement that he wanted. That is what the judiciary is in Rivers State. We are not scared of saying it because we have a plethora of reasons to do so.”
Okocha concluded by criticising the judiciary in Rivers State, stating, “Otherwise, there are certain things that have happened at the same time in Rivers State, and you see judgements that are churned out. Even an elementary school student or pupil who studied civics will tell you that this is not consistent with the law or the constitution.”
“There was also what we call an abuse of the court process. Emeka Beke and one Ifeanyi Chukwu Dike have long been suspended by the state working committee. There are others. And the reason for their suspension was fair. They gave them a fair hearing. They didn’t shave their heads in absence. Within them, they have this wrangling. They met and clearly identified that Emeka Beke, the then chairman, and the state legal adviser, Barrister Ifeanyi Chukwu Dike, engaged and indulged in anti-party activities,” Okocha explained.
Okocha emphasized that there was no way the party faithful would submit themselves to Emeka Beke’s executive, which he alleged worked against the party’s interest in the last general elections. He also accused Beke of being high-handed.
“Don’t forget that Emeka Beke was an ardent Amaechi supporter. Emeka Beke was imposed on the people of APC in Rivers State. A lot of you here would not have forgotten that I was a member and ally of Senator Magnus Abe when he was fighting inside the All Progressives Congress, APC. I was one of his closest allies. The reasons why we fought were: one, leadership ineptitude; two, we fought political high-handedness; and three, we fought impositions in the party. Emeka Beke was a product of high-handedness, ineptitude, and imposition.”
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