The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has clarified that the lawmakers led by Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule never defected to the party and are not its members.
The party’s state chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, made this statement on Tuesday while addressing journalists in Port Harcourt following a state executive committee meeting.
Okocha emphasized that he never officially received the 27 embattled lawmakers—who are loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike—into the APC.
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He explained that the gathering at the Port Harcourt Polo Club in December 2023 was not an event to welcome the lawmakers into the party but rather a celebration of the inauguration of a new APC state executive council, constituted by the party’s national leadership.
He further clarified that the lawmakers attended the event on an individual basis due to their personal relationships with him.
The APC chairman said: “There was no intention to organise a reception for what we were not holding. We were inaugurated in Abuja and we chose to organise a reception and thanksgiving for our members. It was not to receive the 27 lawmakers.
“We were misinterpreted to have received the 27 lawmakers into APC. That is not correct. We invited individual members of the Assembly. I have relationship with them over time. We tried to woo them into the party. I was intentional in reaching out to them to join us. We would have counted it all joy if we had succeeded.
“We want to tell Nigerians that the 27 lawmakers led by the Rt. Hon Martins Amaewhule never defected to the All Progressives Congress. What people flaunt on social media or television cannot put plausible argument for them. The law is not about emotions. It is as strict as it is.”
Okocha maintained that defection must begin at the ward level, and there was no record of any of the lawmakers registering or being formally received into the APC at their respective wards.
He noted that the party would soon commence an e-registration process for new members but stated that he was not in a position to provide further details.
As the Rivers State representative on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Okocha also accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of disregarding court orders and violating the rule of law.
He warned that Fubara’s continued defiance of judicial rulings could lead to chaos in the state, referencing Justice Omotosho’s verdict, which directed the governor to re-present the 2024 budget before the Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly—a directive the governor has failed to comply with.
Okocha said: “The era of strong man mentality is gone. The law has taken its place. There is no way a High Court can sit in judgement over a superior court of Appeal. It is not done. It is a pity that senior lawmakers in this country will now come out to misinterpret the court judgement.
“We are disenchanted by the disrespect to the rule of law by the governor. Justice James Omotosho granted 15 reliefs in his judgement but the governor has refused to obey them. You cannot run the state without an annual budget. But the governor is doing so. You cannot present a budget before a three-man Assembly. The Appeal Court called it a forum.”
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