The South-South zone of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted the purported suspension of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, by the party’s executive in his local government area in Bayelsa State.

Officials of the zone, led by Mr Chukwuemeke Ogbuobodo, in a statement on Thursday described the minister’s suspension as illegal, null, and void.

Ogbuobodo, who is the zonal legal advisor of the party, cited Article 21.3 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (a) (b) (c) (d) and (e) of the party’s Constitution, which stipulates the processes that must be adhered to as the basis for their position.

He also warned the LGA executive that they are not above the law and should not see any other person as beneath it: “APC is not a party for supermen but a party guided by the rule of law.”

Recall that the APC in Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor Local Government Areas, in separate press briefings, had last week purportedly suspended Lokpobiri and the 2019 gubernatorial candidate of the party in Bayelsa State, David Lyon.

But Ogbuobodo warned the persons behind the purported suspensions to be mindful that the entire executive in the state was invalidated by the decision of the Bayelsa State High Court in Suit No. YHC/16/2022; “so who gave you the power to suspend the minister?

“As a consequence, the decision by the so-called LG Executive of APC is unknown to both the party’s Constitution and the laws of the land.”

He averred that to avoid this kind of unwholesome intervention by imposters in the affairs of the party in Bayelsa State, given the current vacuum created by the judgment of the Bayelsa State High Court in Suit No. YHC/16/2022, and as a law-abiding entity, party chieftains in the South-South zone would now move swiftly to get the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to appoint a caretaker committee to help oversee the party’s activities in Bayelsa State in the interim pending the election of a substantive State Executive.

“To this end, we urge party members in Bayelsa State and members of the general public to disregard the purported suspension of Senator Lokpobiri by individuals who are out to cause confusion in the Bayelsa State chapter of the party,” he added.

Ogbuobodo commended Senator Lokpobiri for his invaluable contributions to the successes being recorded by President Bola Tinubu’s administration as Minister of State (Petroleum) and urged him not to be distracted by the antics of those who do not mean well for the state.

He said: “Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has demonstrated capacity as Minister and has attracted meaningful development projects to Bayelsa in particular and the South-South region in general. The actions of these individuals were borne out of envy and a wicked plot to destabilize APC in Bayelsa State and the South-South Zone.

“This is why we condemn and reject the unlawful act, and we urge all well-meaning party members in the country to do the same.”