The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, Esq. has described the allegations by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accusing the APC of plotting to forcefully take over the government of Rivers State as a plot that exists only in PDP’s “warped imagination”.
The APC national spokesman stated this in a press statement released to journalists yesterday evening in response to the PDP’s accusation.
Felix Morka in the statement, slammed the PDP for mischievously misrepresenting the comments reportedly made by the Chairman of the Rivers State APC Caretaker Committee, Chief Tony Okocha while sweeping under the carpet, the issues underpinning the political crisis in Rivers State.
“Quite contrary to the PDP’s misplaced quibbles against Chief Okocha comments, Governor Siminalayi Fubara is the supreme architect of the horrific crisis rocking Rivers State”, the APC Spokesman stated.
“Since assumming office over a year ago, Governor Fubara has displayed reckless disdain for the rule of law and democratic institutions, and conducted his government in flagrant violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“In an unprecedented display of autocratic arrogance, Governor Fubara declared the democratically elected Rivers state House of Assembly to be non-existent and, without lawful authority, constituted a bogus and illegal 3-man sham Assembly in brazen violation of express provisions of the Constitution on the threshold composition of the House of Assembly and in disregard of the separation of powers doctrine”, Felix Morka noted.
The APC image maker accused the Rivers State Governor of expending public funds without lawful appropriations by a duly constituted legislature thereby undermining the will of the good people of Rivers State and their right to effective and accountable democratic governance.
“Governor Fubara is an executive governor of crisis. A serious and focused Governor would have set a clear programme to conduct local government elections given the established timeline for the expiration of the tenure of the incumbent elected local government officials”, the APC Spokesman continued.
“Rather, Governor Fubara sat on his hands and waited, idly, for their tenure to elapse in order to unleash a fresh round of thuggery and executive lawlessness on the people of Rivers state and, again, seeking to arbitrarily impose illegal, unconstitutional and anti-democratic caretaker committees to run the affairs of local governments in place of a democratically elected local government officials.
“The current crisis in Rivers state is clearly contrived and executed by Governor Fubara who has continued to usurp the legislative power of the Rivers state legislature while contemptuously disregarding valid decisions and orders of courts of competent jurisdiction in critical matters at the root of the crisis in the state.
“The PDP would rather peddle falsehood about a non-existent plot to interfere with the government of Rivers state instead of giving a crash course to Governor Fubara on the basic tenets of democratic and constitutional governance for the benefit of the good people of Rivers state”, Felix Morka concluded.
The political crisis rocking Rivers State has increased in tempo following the expiration of the tenure of the elected LGA administration across the 23 LGAs of Rivers State and the subsequent move by the Governor to appoint Caretaker Committees to oversee the local governments instead of conducting another local government election.
Meanwhile, the faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Rt. Hon. Martin Amaehule who are loyal to the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, had earlier extended the tenures of the local government Chairmen by six (6) months in the first instance, to allow for fresh local government elections in the state.
However, after the expiration of the tenure of elected Council Chairmen, thugs loyal to Gov. Sim Fubara invaded the secretariat of the 23 local government areas including the home local government of Nyesom Wike to chase out the outgoing Chairmen.
In a bid to prevent further breakdown of law and order, the Rivers State police command barricade all the local government secretariats across the state pending the conclusion of litigation on the matter.