APC Rivers Chairman Okocha Says LG Polls Won’t Hold On October 5
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has declared that the local government council elections scheduled for October 5 will not take place.
Caretaker Committee Chairman, Tony Okocha, made the announcement at the party’s expanded stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
Okocha cited ongoing litigation between the APC and the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) as the reason for the declaration.
The APC is challenging RSIEC’s decision to conduct the elections, alleging that the commission failed to adhere to the legal requirement of holding polls three months before the expiration of the outgoing chairmen’s tenure.
Okocha said, “The topical issue to be discussed is the issue of is APC contesting elections on the 5th of October? We are in court and I won’t speak on any matter that’s in court. The much I can say to you and the course of action is to restrain the agencies that would conduct that elections that they announced behind us.
“My dear people, what they are doing now as we speak and 5th of October as they are talking about will not work. It will not work. You can’t go and conduct local government elections in Rivers State without a party like the APC, and am told too that PDP is not in the race.
“We were not part of the decision for an election on the 5th of October. We had gone on air on 19th of January to tell the RSIEC Chairman and the commission itself to commence the process of having elections. At that time, it was still within the ambits of the law of the state because the law says three months to the expiration of the tenures of the council that the electoral body should organise election, the process should commence, timetable released and all that and twenty one days inside that three months.”
Okacha noted that although the APC in the state had all it takes to participate and massively win in the proposed elections, it decided to shun it because the process was flawed to embarrass the APC.
“Let me tell you the reason we went to court, it’s not because we don’t have the number or we don’t have the strength. I can assure you and you know by yourself that we have men and women, caterpillars and bulldozers that can contest all the elections and win.
“We are saying that the processes should be seen to be transparent so that we don’t just go and work on hurdle thorns. That was why some of you were worried that something went viral even though it was a side talk but what do I care? I was only doing a whistle blower for that matter because I know that that election will not represent the interest or opinion of those who would vote. It is already stereotyped, the handout has already been written.”
He added, “We have been in party formations and party elections for many years in this state. They are just coming in and they need to learn from us how we succeeded. So if we want to go by good news, good approach. He would not succeed , we would not agree.”
“There was a day they said they had stakeholders meeting. I was not invited. The APC Rivers State was not invited to the stakeholders meeting where the decision for October 5th elections was taken. So we cannot participate in that because there was a deliberate plan to axe us and make us worthless. So we went to court.”
Okocha however stated that the party would only participate in the elections if the process made to be more transparent.
“We are not saying we won’t contest elections for those of you who they may have told you that, that’s not our contention. Our contention is until the processes that have been put in place or they want to put in place is in tandem with the law first and we are carried along in the entire arrangement as a party
“We won’t accept that. I won’t expose you to that kind of trauma where you go and spend your money even if we say we are going to assist you, some of you would sell land, some of you would sell house, some of you will do everything possible to generate funds and then we know that that fund you’re generating for that election will go into the dungeon, do you think that we should allow it?
Also speaking, former Chairman of the party, Ojukaye Flag Amachree, has advised the dissolved state executives led by Chief Emeka Beke to accept the National Working Committee’s (NWC) decision in good faith.
Amachree, who spoke from personal experience, recalled how his own executives were dissolved by the NWC due to internal crisis. He urged Beke and others to follow his example and support the appointed Caretaker Committee.
“The highest body in this party is the NWC,” Amachree emphasized. “I know Emeka Beke very well, and I expect him to do the same as I did – accept the decision and move on.”
Amachree dismissed any attempts to reverse the NWC’s decision through court orders, saying, “Even if you go to the United Nations and bring a court judgment, it won’t work.”
He expressed support for the current Caretaker Committee Chairman, Tony Okocha, and encouraged party members to follow suit.
Meanwhile, despite opposition from the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Rivers State Government has insisted that the local government council elections will hold as scheduled on October 5.
Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, who spoke during a popular radio talk show, confirmed that the date remains unchanged, citing Governor’s recent affirmation.
Johnson expressed confidence that the elections will proceed as planned, saying, “I do not see any reason why we should shift the day or cancel the date.”
The Rivers State Government’s stance sets the stage for a potential showdown with the APC, which has vowed to stop the elections through legal means.
APC Rivers Chairman Okocha Says LG Polls Won’t Hold On October 5 is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
