Politics

You Can’t Join APC Through Backdoor, Rivers Party Chair Tells ‘Atiku Loyalists’

Published

11 months ago

April 1, 2024

Rivers state All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, the former minister of transportation, Abiye Sekibo and other leaders of PDP in the state that they could not join the APC through the back door.

The caretaker committee chairman of the party in Riers state, Tony Okocha handed down the warning in Abuja on Friday, March 29, while reacting to Thursday’s media briefing by some PDP chieftains who declared support for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Simlaye Fubara

Present at the PDP briefing included Dr. Abiye Sekibo, Uche Secondus; former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Austin Opara; Celestine Omehia, former deputy governor of the state, Tele Ikuru; Senator Lee Maeba; and former Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Dr. Gabriel Pidomson, among others.

Okocha, who described the Sekibo-led PDP group as crisis merchants, said if the group felt concerned, it would have been honourable for them to seek solutions to the problems rather than constituting themselves as snitches and fifth columnists in the state.

Okocha said that the APC is open to accepting new members from the other parties into its fold, based on the mandate to his committee by the APC National Working Committee (NWC), but warned that such a move must be done legally.

Faulting the pledged support for the President during the Press Conference in Port Harcourt, Okocha said: “If the mid-night pseudo lovers of Mr President as shown in the text under critique, now are convinced that President is abundantly fit and proper to preside over Nigeria and that his ten months in office has provided Renewed Hope for an eldorado for Nigerians and choose to recant their hitherto unsavoury and unprintable toxics against President, they should follow the proper channels allowed for porting or decamping to a new party.

“This approach of brow-beating and blackmailing they intend to use is not fashionable at all.

“No sane host tolerates a Guest who attempts to enter his/her house, through the window when the door is open.

“When have they repented and withdrawn their suits in court, challenging the Powers of the resident to mediate in the political crisis in Rivers State?

“Have they repented from emboldening Governor Fubara to disrespect Mr. President by refusing to implement all the indices on the 8-point Presidential Proclamation, as panacea to the political crisis in Rivers State, which by their actions, they have continued to fuel?”

The APC leader said the fortune of the party had continued to rise in the state and challenged the Rivers state governor Fubara to test his popularity by conducting a Local Government election in the state to know his political strength.

“He (Fubura) should go and conduct local government elections if he knows he is popular with the people. He should go and test the waters to see if the crowd they have been carrying are not related. We know he doesn’t have the people.”

Okocha lamented that, “under Governor Fubara “Rivers state is more than drifting to a pariah state, to atrophying into abysmal oblivion, to say the least.”

Politics

BREAKING: Ex- Lagos guber candidate Jandor dumps PDP

Published

9 hours ago

March 3, 2025

Austin Ojomah

Dr. Olajide Adediran, popularly known as JANDOR, has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The 2023 Lagos governorship candidate made the announcement on Monday during a press conference in Ikeja, Lagos.

While he did not disclose his next political move, JANDOR assured that he would make his intentions known in the coming months.

His departure from the PDP comes with the backing of his supporters across the 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of Lagos State.

Details to follow…

Politics

UPDATED: Present 2025 Budget in the next 48hrs, Rivers Assembly tells embattled Fubara

Published

10 hours ago

March 3, 2025

Naijablitznews

… Assembly insists on no account should Rivers people suffer

The Rivers State House of Assembly has given embattled Governor Siminalayi Fubara 48 hours to present the 2025 budget to the House.

Also, Fubara was encouraged to act fast and do the needful to stop unnecessary suffering by Rivers people over the stoppage of federal allocations to the state.

See details below:
The Rivers House of Assembly on the 3rd day of March 2025, amongst other matters deliberated on Judgements of
the Supreme Court in Suits numbers- SC/Cy/1174/2024 and sC/CV/1105/2024 delivered on the 28h day of
February 2025 and resolved as follows:

“That pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court in Suit no.: sc/CV/1174/2024 for the stoppage of
Statutory Federal allocations to the Rivers State Government and haltíng of spending from the
Consolidated Revenue Fund of Rivers State pending the passage of an Appropriation Bill, you are
requested to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the House in line with the provisions of the 1999
Constitution as amended.

“That the House expects you to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill within 48 hours.

“That since the Supreme Court in the judgement delivered in Suit no.: SC/CV/1105/20
0/2024 nullified the
Rivers State Local Government Elections of 5th October 2024 for non-compliance with the
Electoral Act among other reasons, the House would soon commence the process of amending the
Rivers State Local Government Law No. 5 of 2018 and the Rivers State Independent Electoral
Commission Law No. 2 of 2018 so that they can be in tandem with the Electoral Act and pave the way
for the commencement of plans for fresh Local Government elections in the State.

That your attention should be drawn to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended; the Rivers
State Local Government (Amendment) Law, 2023 as well as the Judgement of the Supreme Court in
Suit No.: Sc/cv/343/2024 that prohibits the administration of Local Governments by HLGA’S or any
other persons other than democratically elected officials.

That the House would proceed on a 12- week recess as from Friday 7th March 2025 but Standing
Committees would be expected to continue statutory functions.

“Please be informed that our resolutions are geared towards a quick fix to the current financial quagmire
occasioned by the absence of an Appropriatíon Law for Rivers State.

“We do not want Rivers State people to
suffer.

“We, therefore, urge you to act fast and do the needful in the best interest of the good people of Rivers
State.