APC chairman blames judiciary for protracted crisis in Rivers

• Okocha no longer exist, state govt replies

The Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has said the judiciary is the problem and cause of the protracted political crisis in the state.

Okocha explained that when a matter is in the superior court, the lower court ought to hand off the matter. But he lamented that the case is different in Rivers State, alleging that judges in Rivers State are playing games with political cases, which, according to him, has escalated the crisis in the state.

Addressing newsmen in Port Harcourt yesterday, Okocha accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of disregarding court judgments. He said the law must be obeyed because if there’s no law, the society is headed to anarchy and chaos.

He said: “The judiciary is the problem behind the political crisis in Rivers State. The judges in Rivers State are aware of the judicial processes, yet they go ahead to make pronouncements on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) congresses in the state even when the superior court says otherwise. They are aware of the judgement by Federal High Court, Abuja, on the matter.”

Recall that there are four court orders sequel to the congresses conducted by the PDP in Rivers State. Three of the orders, issued by a High Court in Rivers State, stopped the congresses, while a Federal High Court order in Abuja, On July 23, 2024, presided by Justice Peter Lifu, permitted the PDP to proceed with the exercise. But on January 13, 2025, the Rivers State High Court, presided by Justice Stephen Jumbo, nullified the congresses.

Okocha further alleged that governance in Rivers State has taken a back seat despite buoyant Federal Government allocations accruing to the state and the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). He also scored Fubara zero in agriculture, education, and housing, saying there are no vivid policies and monitoring in such sectors.

But in a reaction, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, said Okocha no longer exist in the state because the court has long acknowledged Emeka Bekee as the APC Chairman. He urged the public to disregard any comments from him, as they are irrelevant.

Johnson disclosed that the state government under Fubara is focused and doing profound works, which the masses are testifying to. He said: “The state government has three broad approaches geared toward making uncommon impacts in the state; they are Education, Health and Agriculture. We are running and doing very well; in fact, we had excco meeting on Friday and the Commissioner for Health announced that the state is rehabilitating 135 primary healthcare centres. This is a feat that is not common.”

“Such feat is being recorded in other sectors as well like agric, infrastructure and so on. In fact, by March this year, we will start another round of project commissioning in the state.”