Fresh Crisis Rocks APC In Rivers State

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State is facing a new crisis, as former Chief of Staff to former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Tony Okocha, has declared himself the leader of the party in the state.

Okocha made the claim during a media briefing in Port Harcourt on Sunday, stating that he was named leader following Amaechi’s alleged directive for party members to vote against President-elect Bola Tinubu in the recently concluded presidential election.

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According to Okocha:

“A day before the presidential election, he ordered his supporters to vote for the candidates of the PDP. We also have it on record that he also voted for the candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. That necessarily by nature disqualifies him as the leader. And that I, Chief Tony Okocha, who won election with my own faction, for our presidential candidate is now the leader of APC in Rivers State.”

However, the APC’s Publicity Secretary in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, countered Okocha’s claim, stating that he is not a member of the party in the state, but rather a member of an independent campaign outfit for Tinubu-Shettima during the presidential election.

Nwauju also described Okocha as a transactional politician and claimed that he failed to participate in the party’s membership revalidation exercise carried out in 2021.

Nwauju further stated:

“Are you not aware that the campaign outfit which he belongs to here in Rivers State is torn apart because of money allegedly donated to them by the Governor of Rivers State. Please remind Tony Okocha that when the pillars of APC in Nigeria sit to discuss, he won’t be there. And let us also put this on record that one million Tony Okocha’s cannot distract Rivers APC from winning the election on March 11, 2023.”

The emergence of Okocha as the APC leader in Rivers State has further deepened the crisis within the party, with several factions vying for control ahead of the upcoming elections.

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It remains to be seen how the party leadership will handle the situation and whether a resolution can be reached before the polls.