Chief Tony Okocha
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State have accused the state Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara of incompetence, demanding his resignation and a public apology for disappointing Rivers electorates.
The state APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, during a media briefing he tagged “The reign of a decrepit leadership in Rivers State” in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, alleged that the present administration was clueless and had deviated from the mandate and blueprint handed to him by his predecessor, Chief Nyesom Wike.
He said, “Ex-raying the Rivers State Government, vis-a-vis its activities for the past nine months that we have Governor Siminalayi Joseph Fubara sitting on the rostrum, after critical examination of the activities of this government, we have come to the conclusion that it is decrepit, it is clueless, visionless, directionless, it is also rudderless, and we cannot speak so in the comfort of our homes.
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“As you know public opinion must be expressed and espoused so that the next person would hear and understand, not the one you express on top of your roofs.
“So as APC in Rivers State, we are here to condemn in absolute terms the inactivity of government in Rivers State, and we demand that the governor and his assignees apologize to the people of Rivers State for disappointing them.”
Okocha also alleged that the state Governor was solely running the government and shutting out the state executive council (SEC) and other cabinet members in the last three months.
He stated that the Governor had also refused to work with the state assembly because a majority of the lawmakers had moved to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), adding that the Governor was also unlawfully micromanaging the affairs of the 23 local government chairmen in the state.
“After the 10th of December 2023, when the Governor arranged the approval of a kangaroo budget implementation, he has not held a State Executive Council, SEC, meeting till the end of February, 2024.
“It means that for the Governor to refuse to call a SEC meeting, it means that he is ruling the state by his own whims and caprices. The state has become a one man state. He is now a totalitarian, and he wants us as a party to sit down and watch that.
“The Governor is not in sync with the legislative arm (the house of assembly) because 27 out of 30 of them are members of the APC and he is refusing to work with them, in keeping with the theory of separation of powers.
“The Governor is also going to affront local government chairmen, who are also members of his party, the PDP. We learnt he has withheld the allocation of the local government council. He stays at the comfort of his home to dictate to them what they should pay local government workers. He has no such right.”
Okocha expressed regrets that the state Governor rather than tackling the economic hardship facing the people, was busy sponsoring thanksgiving services to the tune of N150 million per LGA.
“Rivers State ranks third in Nigeria interms of FAAC after Delta and Akwa Ibom States. Rivers State ranks second interms of Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, after Lagos State. So what has happened to our monies between May 29, 2023 to February 2024. what Projects has he commissioned?
“The only thing that is unique about this government is the jamboree and squandering of Rivers funds by the governor of the state, in the gap of every week for thanksgiving service for the 23 LGAs of Rivers State and the 319 wards.
“The question to ask is, what are they thanking God for. What is the essence of the thanksgiving in Rivers State that gulps as much as 150 million naira per LGA? And they will tell you that they are thanking God for the Supreme Court victory. Who was after the governor, and what was his case at the supreme Court.”
