Chief Tony Okocha, the embattled chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, has charged Governor Siminalayi Fubara with meddling in the opposition party’s internal affairs and swaying state court decisions.
Fubara, according to Okocha, has transformed the state judiciary into a “supermarket” where rulings are purchased to serve his agenda.
He was responding to a recent decision by the Rivers State High Court that declared the APC’s state congresses invalid, which he claimed was the result of the governor’s interference.
Okocha was unreserved in his criticism when he spoke to reporters on Sunday at his Rumuigbo home in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area.
He implied prejudice in the court’s ruling by claiming that Justice Godswill Obomanu, the presiding judge, is from the same Opobo village as Fubara.
“The creator of this gruesome dance is him [Fubara]. He is busy interfering in APC activities despite not even belonging to the PDP. Okocha advised him to concentrate on re-registering with the PDP rather than creating confusion.
“The Rivers State judiciary is now a supermarket where the governor goes to buy judgements. He assigns cases at his will. The state’s judiciary is suffering as a result of this deception,” he said.
Okocha also supported the party’s choice to hold congresses, stating that they were carried out openly and following the guidelines issued by the APC national secretariat.
“I spent N3 million on my form and ran a massive campaign. The people agreed that since I’ve performed well, I should remain chairman.”
However, he said that the governor and his supporters were causing havoc by exploiting the court system.
Citing previous instances in which state judges were sanctioned by the National Judicial Council, he charged that the judiciary in Rivers was participating in acts that were harmful to justice.
Jerry Omatsogunwa, Governor Fubara’s Special Assistant on Electronic Media, quickly brushed off Okocha’s allegations as unfounded.
Omatsogunwa urged Okocha to provide evidence to support his claims, pointing out that Governor Fubara is still an official member of the PDP.
“Governor Fubara has participated in multiple meetings of the PDP Governors’ Forum. He wouldn’t attend such events if he wasn’t a PDP member,” Omatsogunwa said.
He criticised Okocha for giving court decisions ethnic overtones, stressing that the judiciary is an autonomous body.
“How does the governor feel about breaking a court order and getting caught by the law? The APC should address its internal crisis rather than blaming the governor,” Omatsogunwa hinted.
Citing the recent three-week period of project commissioning and flag-offs around the state, Omatsogunwa also emphasised Fubara’s emphasis on governance.
“The governor is occupied with fulfilling his commitments to the people of Rivers. He doesn’t have time for internal APC disputes,” he stated.
