From Tony John, Port Harcourt
For over eight years, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has not known peace. And with the current state of the party in the state, reconciliation seems to be elusive.
The party’s crisis has its roots in the following events and factors. The major dramatist personae in the crisis are the former governor, Chibuike Amaechi and Senator Magnus Abe.
Their falling out led to the factionalization of the party, which has remained so till date.
Senator Abe, who untill the crisis was Amaechi’s strong ally, had governorship ambition in the 2019 general elections.
But he was not favoured by Amaechi, who was the leader of APC in the state and Minister of Transportation in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
Amaechi had a preferred governorship candidate, in the person of Tonye Cole, a business tycoon.
The leader’s choice of Cole caused serious disharmony among the members and supporters loyal to both the minister and Senator Abe.
The party became factionalized with parallel secretariats, different chairmen and different leaders.
As expected, Amaechi, who was prominent in the formation of APC and a key figure in the Buhari’s cabinet, enjoyed the goodwill of the national leadership of the party.
His faction was recognized by the national leadership, while Abe and his group struggled for recognition.
Remarkably, Abe’s faction was composed of members and supporters who felt that APC was not a personal empire, where an individual would solely make and take decisions unilaterally.
With the existing crisis, the then State governor, Nyesom Wike, allegedly took advantage of it, and the “fight” for supremacy raged higher.
In the build up to the 2019 general elections, the APC in Rivers State was barred from participating in the 2019 general elections due to internal conflicts and court cases.
Multiple court cases and factions emerged within the party, leading to a split between the Ojukaye Flag-Amachree-led faction and the Rotimi Amaechi-backed faction.
Also, a leadership tussle ensued between Ojukaye Flag-Amachree and Isaac Ogbobula, with each claiming to be the authentic chairman of the party in Rivers State.
Consequently, the national leadership of the APC suspended and eventually expelled some members, including Ojukaye Flag-Amachree, citing anti-party activities.
Also, disagreements over the conduct of congresses and primary elections further deepened the crisis.
Various court rulings and litigations contributed to the ongoing crisis, with some judgments favouring one faction over the other.
The influence of Amaechi played a role in the crisis. These factors have cumulatively contributed to the ongoing crisis within the APC in Rivers State.
In fact, throughout the eight years of Wike as governor of the state, APC was in comatose. The 32 members of the state House of Assembly were all PDP lawmakers.
The same thing was applicable to all the 23 local government chairmen and councillors. At the National Assembly, PDP produced members.
However, as the 2023 general elections approached, Senator Abe was unanimously chosen by his faction. But, towards the election period, he dumped APC and switched over to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) as the gubernatorial candidate for the state.
At the 2023 presidential election, it was alleged that the faction loyal to the minister voted for the PDP candidate, instead of the APC flag bearer.
Similarly, Abe’s loyalists in APC, who followed him to SDP, voted for APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
Then, at the governorship level, the remnant of APC in Abe’s faction, which was later controlled Chief Tony Okocha, Abe’s ally, allegedly voted for the PDP governorship candidate, instead of their party’s, who was backed by Amaechi.
Before the elections, some set of APC members and supporters had declared their support for Wike’s candidate, who eventually emerged as governor.
Ironically, the APC crisis in the state is still raging with the latest development being the capture of the Rivers State APC executive committee by the Wike group, backed by the National Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje.
This move has pushed away the Beke-led executives, who are loyal to Amaechi.
Additionally, some Siminalayi Fubara loyalists have questioned the legitimacy of Okocha, the APC caretaker committee chairman, suggesting that he is not a member of the party.
These developments indicate that the crisis is far from over, with different factions vying for control and influence within the party.
Meanwhile, recently, APC leadership in Rivers State aligned with the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wike, was ousted by a ruling from the State High Court in Port Harcourt.
The court dismissed the seven-member Caretaker Committee led by Tony Okocha, who was appointed by the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC).
In the ruling, Justice Sika Aprioku addressed a suit brought by Sam Sam Etetegwung, Banarth Ezemoye, Ezekiel Ubom and others, who sought to uphold the democratically elected All Progressives Congress executive in the state.
The court reinstated the executive led by Emeka Beke, which is the faction loyal to Amaechi, as the legitimate leadership of the party in Rivers State.
Reacting to the judgment, the ousted CTC said it was not surprised that Justice Aprioku would rule in that direction.
Publicity Secretary of the Caretaker Committee,
Chibike Ikenga, said the judge delivered a judgment against APC, a party that was not before the court.
Ikenga explained that the judgment of the court did not come as a surprise to the leadership of the All Progressive Congress, Rivers State, which they have claimed to be the authentic leadership.
He said: “Hon Etetegwung, former State Secretary of APC brought an action challenging the decision of the APC dissolving the State Working Committee (SWC) in Rivers State on account of the anti-party activities of members of that SWC during the 2023 general election in the state.
“You will recall that the leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Rivers State, on sensing the overt interest of the judge in the matter, petitioned to the Chief Judge of Rivers State requesting that Hon. Justice Sika H. Aprioku recuse himself from the case or the Chief Judge transfer the matter to another judge of Rivers State, but to no avail. Today, Hon Justice Sika H. Aprioku has vindicated us by his judgment.
“It is important to note that these matters were not vacation cases. They were taken before vacation and adjourned. We were surprised that the judge had to call us back during vacation for a matter that has no urgency and no time limit.
“As a party in the suit, we never applied for the matter to be brought as vacation matter, the Chief Judge did not also serve us any application from the other party for that purpose.
“Interestingly, in his judgment, the judge went against all the principles of law established by the Supreme Court of Nigeria and as we have known them as a political party, especially, in APC vs Igo Aguma, APC vs. Dele Moses, both originating from the same Rivers State High Court.
“In such a critical case challenging the decision and actions of the APC, the judge said that APC needs not to be joined as a party, yet it went ahead to make orders against the APC. Our lawyers raised objection which were totally ignored by the judge.”
The Tony Okocha-led CTC of APC said it was not perturbed by the judgment, disclosing that they would appeal the verdict.
Ikenga said: “We have instructed our lawyers to immediately take steps to appeal against the judgment. We are only worried for the judiciary. It is only a matter of time before the true motive for this kind of rebellious judgment against earlier decisions/judgments of the Supreme Court will be exposed.
“The Caretaker Committee of the APC, Rivers State, led by Chief Tony Okocha is still on the saddle and is fully in charge of the affairs of the party-APC in the state.”
The CTC urged its genuine party members to remain focused on rebuilding and repositioning the party in Rivers State and refuse to be distracted.
The committee claimed that those rejoicing were people, plotting to undermine President Bola Tinubu and his Renewed Hope Agenda, the APC and the supporters.
According to the committee, those happy with the judgment are “in their quest to overthrow the government and get back to power through unconstitutional means.”
Three days after the ousting of the CTC members, the APC reinstated Okocha and his committee.
So, Okocha has repeatedly stated that he is both the chairman and leader of APC in Rivers State.
Another chieftain of the party and Amaechi’s strong ally, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has accorded every leadership right of APC in Rivers and entire South-South to the former Minister of Transportation, dismissing Okocha’s claims.
So, the political crisis of APC in Rivers State is also contributing to the worsening political battle going on in the PDP.
Okocha has clearly shown his group’s loyalty to Wike and the factional leadership of the House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule.
They have consistently faulted every step taken by governor of the state, Fubara.
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