Rivers LG: Poll results show people are tired of emperors — Okpara
…peaceful polls can be conducted in Nigeria without the police
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Austin Okpara, has said the success of the conduct of the October 5, 2024, local government election in Rivers shows the people are tired of oppression.
The former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics programme, said, “What it portends is that Rivers people are tired of oppression, Rivers people are tired of emperorship, Rivers people are tired of dictatorship,” he said
“The difference now is that we have a governor who wants to serve and not be served; not a governor who Adolf Hitler is his mentor or (Donald) Trump. Rivers people feel liberated; Rivers people are happy, they came out in their numbers to vote and they are excited.”
Okparaknocked ex-governor Nyesom Wike for trying to control the structures of the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, saying, “A man wants to control APC structure, he wants to be in control of PDP structure, in a state? How do you explain that?
“We should give credit to Governor Fubara, because by the end of the month, any state that does not have (a) democratically elected local government structure will not receive money. What’s the implication? It means that civil servants at the local government level will not be paid? Families will be deprived.
“So, Governor Fubara was helpless in this situation, sacrificed and ensured that rather than go on a party line, let there be an election so that the state would continue to benefit from (FAAC allocations). I applaud Governor Fubara for defying all odds to hold the local government election in the state despite the withdrawal of the PDP and the APC
Okpara said Fubara had no option, but to proceed with the election when his party, the PDP, opted out of the exercise.
He said, “We cannot describe that as an anti-party, because if you listen to his speech today (Sunday), he said he is still a member of the PDP and his party opted out of the election. How do you explain that? A PDP state? His party opted out so he decided to hold the election.”
Okpara, a former ally of Wike, said he dumped the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and moved to Fubara’s camp, because of ideological differences.
“We were political associates but now we are no longer are,” he said, noting that the point of disagreement was when Wike supported the APC in the 2023 presidential election at the expense of the PDP.
