133
By Oscar Okhifo
Ahead of Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s reinstatement to office on September 18, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has expressed readiness to work with him.
The party, however, stressed that cooperating with the Governor would not stop it from playing its role as the main opposition by holding him accountable on governance matters.
Rivers APC Chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, made the declaration during a news briefing in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Okocha assured that while the APC would continue to strengthen its membership base, it would also offer constructive criticism of the Fubara administration.
He said, “The Governor who was suspended will return to office on September 18. The APC will work with him when he returns.
“There are states where the Governor and Assembly members are in different parties, so we are going to work with him.
“However, that will not take away our right to criticise him when he does wrong. But for us, the LG chairmen will work with him, except that we will not agree to vicious policies.” Okocha said.
Commenting on the just-concluded local government elections in the state, Okocha described the exercise as a prelude to the 2027 general elections. He explained that the APC deliberately avoided contesting in PDP strongholds but concentrated on areas where it had a comparative advantage.
He said, “The Rivers State LG election is a prelude to what will happen in 2027.
“Whilst we were campaigning, I told our people that there is a need for us to believe in the centre and leave the periphery.
“We did not field candidates in Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGAs because we do not have the strength in those areas.
“It was our own calculated strategy not to field candidates in those LGAs and concentrate only where we have a comparative advantage. Remember that Rivers State was a PDP state.”
Expressing optimism about the party’s rising influence, Okocha contrasted APC’s position in 2023 with its present standing.
“In 2023, APC in Rivers State had no shoes. Now we are wearing psychedelic shoes.
“We are going to double and redouble our membership for the President. As far as my party is concerned, we will be fielding him for a second term in 2027,” he said.
Okocha also took a swipe at the PDP, claiming that the party was collapsing as its members defect in large numbers to the APC.
He stressed, “PDP is in tatters and people are leaving them in droves for other parties, and we’re privileged to have them.
“We’ll continue our pleas for the PDP members, particularly the FCT Minister, to come over to the APC and have peace. The PDP is in tatters.”
It would be recalled that Fubara was suspended from office by President Bola Tinubu on March 18 after he declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing rising political tensions.
Tinubu had accused the governor of failing to act against militants allegedly sympathetic to him who attacked oil facilities in the state, and subsequently appointed former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), as State Administrator for an initial six-month period.
Last Saturday, after casting his vote in the local government elections, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, declared that with the successful conduct of the polls, the “coast” was now clear for Fubara’s reinstatement.