The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by Chief Tony Okocha, has dismissed claims that the 27 embattled state lawmakers defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
Okocha denied welcoming the lawmakers into the party, clarifying that the December 2023 event at the Port Harcourt Polo Club was not a reception for them but a celebration of the inauguration of the state’s APC executive council by the party’s national leadership.
At the event, embattled Speaker Martin Amaewhule had stated that he and 26 colleagues had completed their defection process, citing evidence of division within the PDP.
However, while addressing the media in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Okocha explained that he had personally invited the lawmakers as friends, not as assembly members.
“There was no intention to organize a reception for something that had not happened. Our event was a reception and thanksgiving for our members, not to welcome the 27 lawmakers into the APC,” he said.
He added, “We were misinterpreted. I have known these lawmakers for a long time and tried to woo them into the party. We would have been pleased if we had succeeded, but the truth is they never defected to the APC.”
Okocha also criticized Governor Siminalayi Fubara for allegedly disregarding the rule of law, arguing that the era of strongman politics was over. He accused the governor of ignoring a court ruling that directed him to re-present the 2024 budget before the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.
“We are disappointed by the governor’s refusal to obey Justice James Omotosho’s judgment, which granted 15 reliefs. You cannot run a state without an annual budget, yet the governor is doing so. Presenting a budget before a three-man Assembly is not lawful—the Appeal Court even referred to it as a forum,” he stated.
Okocha urged all parties to remain calm and abide by the final judgment when the Supreme Court rules on the matter.
