The Rivers state chapter of the All Progressive Congress ( APC) has supported the declaration of the state of emergency in Rivers state by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Chairman of the All Progressive Congress in Rivers state, Chief Hon. Tony Okocha stated this in port Harcourt, describing it as a painful satisfaction on the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers state.
According to Okocha, the action of Mr. President was clearly the best of all possible decisions to checkmate the brewing circumstances of economic sabotage and general anomie that were trickling and bedeviling the peace in Rivers state.
Sir Okocha recalled that Mr president in his very tight schedule, took out time to meet with the critical stakeholders in Rivers state, in the most serene environment in the state House, Abuja, in which the meeting was advisory and it produced 8- point Resolution as backup, and hitherto read before the full glare of attendees by former Governor, Peter Odili.
He said, ” I recall also that after every paragraph was read, you paused to ask if it was acceptable to all, and everyone responded bellowing a thunderous, affirmation, hence, the 8- point Resolution was signed, beginning with the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.”
Okocha continued, ” In his speech before your Excellency and attendees, the suspended Governor swore to follow through the 8- point resolution which were intended to bring relative peace in Rivers state.”
” Alas, we returned to a thespian drama where some Elders who should have drummed for peace latching on the veritable ground provided by the meeting in the state House”
Instead, they counseled the Governor Sim never to accept your wise counsel as you lacked the powers under the constitution to do intervene.
Tony further stated, worse still, fubara and cohorts went to court to seek a declaration that Mr. President’s decision was political, not constitutional, adding that in all this route, the Governor was the mastermind and financier, even as he stated that He, Fubara, watched through the sordid path of denigration and abuse of Mr. President with his snide comments which enlivened his cronies in the garb of elders.
Okocha said, ” As a party, we took out airtimes in both traditional and new media to urgent the suspended Governor and his hatchet men to refrain from the ceaseless obnoxious attacks on Mr. President, whose only offense was the intention to return peace and tranquility in Rivers state.
His word, ” we failed because of the deep- seated penchant of the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, whose deliberate intention was to show off Mr. President as weak and inconsequential.”
