The chairman of the Rivers State Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tony Okocha, has declared the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike as the Dean of Nigerian politics, whose influence cannot be toyed with.
He said this on Thursday, December 14, at the national secretariat of the APC in Abuja where he also accused the Rivers state governor, Similaye Fubara of the demolition of the state House of Assembly complex to prevent the majority of 27 members from sitting.
Okocha who came to brief the APC National Working Committee (NWC) of political development in the state following the defection of 27 members of the state House of Assembly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC, vowed that his party will fight against the illegality being perpetrated by the governor in the state.
Asked if the opposition party will be willing to have the minister in APC, Okocha who was Chief of Staff to the then former Governor Rotimi Amaechi said one of the mandates APC NWC gave his committee was to engage in a massive membership drive and will be ready to receive Wike, whom he described as the “Dean of Politics.”
According to him, the APC has been wooing Wike to join the party and help them take over the state.
He said: “I have wooed him personally, we have told him publicly to come over to the Mediterranean and help us. He is a political juggernaut not just in Rivers but in Nigeria at large. He is a force and that is why we won the presidential election after losing the three senatorial seats and all the State House of Assembly members. Wike is the Dean of Politics not only in Rivers but also in Nigeria. We cannot localise his influence.
Dismissing the actions of the governor and his 4-man legislature, the caretaker chairman warned that there is nothing Fubara can do about the fate that has befallen his administration now that the opposition has firm control of the legislature.
He said: “You cannot place something on nothing and you expect it to stand. An illegality is an illegality. Let me also let you know that what makes an assembly is not the structure, but the human beings in that assembly. So, an assembly can be moved anywhere provided the Mace which is the symbol of authority is there. As of yesterday, about 27 members sat and took the far-reaching decision on state matters. You will see all of them signed underneath those decisions.
“But, I tell you a thing, I read a philosopher called Frank Fano, he said the gift you give to an intransigent government is civil disobedience. He also said that it is unthinkable to love disobedience before the law. So, there is a case of anarchy. And it is within the ambit of the PDP.
“It is not like we have a breakdown of law and order. But, this is an internal wrangling in PDP. That they are moving and being allowed to be taken to the centre stage. I had warned the governor or rather advised him. I told him you are opening your flanks to the fifth columnist. And they will feast.
“This same fifth columnists that will come to the feast will be the ones that will be singing your praises. And today, he has left governance completely and begins to chase shadows. Those infrastructural developments that Rivers State is noted for have begun to be atrophied.
“They are rotting away including projects that the former governor has completed up to 100% and he left it for him to come and Commission. He is unable to do anything and he is just after and chasing the mouse even when his house is burning. So there is a complete lack of government and governance in Rivers State. And APC being a party now in opposition will not allow it.”
He maintained that today APC is in overwhelming majority in the Rivers State House of Assembly having 27 out of the 32 members. “This is in line with the mandate of the National Chairman who charged us to reach out even to members of the opposition political parties.
He stated: “You are also aware of the events in the state where the state government adopted the act of barbarism to demolish the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex.
“Recall that before the events of Wednesday, two members of the PDP were laying claims to the position of the Speaker of the Assembly. One Edison Ehie approached the High Court and we are all aware of the position of the Supreme Court on motions.
“We will fight illegality, we will not allow illegality to fester in our state. It is our duty now to defend our 27 members who are members of the State Assembly. So we are telling the governor that he cannot thrive on illegality. We will petition the judge before the NJC to give that “Jankara” order against our members. So we want to appeal to our party to join us to defend our members who are being ill-treated by the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
