Rivers crises: We’ll do everything possible to protect defected Lawmakers – APC vows

Rivers crises: We’ll do everything possible to protect defected Lawmakers – APC vows

Joel Oladele

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reiterated its commitment to protecting the interest of 27 Rivers Assembly Lawmakers who defected from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), recently.

The Chairman of the state APC Caretaker Committee, Mr Tony Okocha, disclosed this while briefing Journalists at the party’s National Secretariat, in Abuja.

“We are telling the governor that he cannot thrive on illegality, we will petition the judge before the National Judicial Council (NJC)for giving 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 House of Assembly.”

“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.

Okocha added that efforts are in place to woo the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike as they believe he has all it takes to rescue the APC in the state.

“I have wooed him personally, we have told him publicly to come over 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,” Okocha said.

The APC chairman also said the party is considering the option of initiating impeachment proceedings against Gov. Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, over a number of Constitutional infringements.

“Although I am not a member of the state House of Assembly, but impeachment is a democratic process. Impeachment is not a coup detat,” he said.

On the demolition of the state House of assembly complex, Okocha said the defected lawmakers would continue to meet else where, so long as they had the mace, which symbolizes authority, adding that the APC would not allow illegality to thrive in the state. 

“You cannot place something on nothing and you expect it to stand. Illegality is illegal.

“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 to anywhere, provided the mace which is its symbol of authority is there. As at yesterday, about 27 members sat and took far-reaching decisions on state matters,” he said.