The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Chief Emeka Beke, has vowed to sanction the 27 lawmakers from the state House of Assembly who have denied their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Chief Beke reportedly made these remarks to journalists, in Port Harcourt, in response to Amaewhule’s recent claims that he and his colleagues were still members of the PDP, as he asserted that these lawmakers cannot deny their membership in the APC after openly defecting.
The pro-Wike lawmakers had announced their defection to the APC amid a political crisis involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, former Governor Nyesom Wike, and incumbent, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
In the wake of their announcement, pro-Fubara lawmakers filed a lawsuit to declare the seats of the pro-Wike lawmakers vacant. Additionally, the Action Peoples Party, APP, initiated a suit against them at the Federal High Court in Abuja, which Justice Peter Lifu dismissed, deeming it statute-barred.
Beke, an ally of former Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi, described their action as “shameful, saying, “I want to put it on record that those 27 members of the House of Assembly are still members of the APC. The law is clear on defection. They cannot run away from the truth because we all know and saw it when they defected to our party.”
Their defection was publicly celebrated, I can recall a reception ceremony hosted by Tony Okocha, who then claimed to be the CTC Chairman of Rivers State APC. They cannot sheepishly make a U-turn and yet be celebrated by the same Tony Okocha whom they are now denying. What a shame,” he added.
Beke insisted, “An appropriate disciplinary action would be taken against the pro-Wike lawmakers after the local government elections scheduled for October 5, 2024 and the APC had fully prepared to participate in these elections.
“In our last meeting, we sent out invitations for them (the pro-Wike lawmakers) to attend, but they did not. Right now, we are focused on local government elections, and after that, we will take necessary actions concerning them,” he said.
He also confirmed that all APC candidates for the elections had been screened and cleared by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), asserting that the court ruling by Justice Aprioku, which recognized him as the elected chairman of the party in the state, had not been overturned.
“The APC will take part in the forthcoming local government elections on October 5. Our candidates have been screened and cleared,” he declared.
“Nothing will stop the APC from participating fully in the local government elections. If anyone claims otherwise, I have instructed our lawyers to secure a warrant of arrest because, as a party, we believe in the rule of law,” he said.
He commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for providing a level playing field for all political parties in the upcoming elections.
“This is the first time in the history of politics in Rivers State that we are seeing a governor who is ready to give all parties the opportunity to test their popularity, allowing Rivers people to elect their preferred chairmen and councilors,” he said.
