…As Darlington Nwauju says, Morka failed to respect the faction recognised by two courts and called on the NBA to impose discipline for disrespect of the judiciary
The impeachment saga in Rivers State seems to open old wounds of a loyalty crisis in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, as the Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi-backed faction is calling for the resignation of Felix Morka, a national officer of the party.
The APC faction headed by Emeka Beke accused Morka of going on television to say he was not sure Nwauju was still the publicity secretary of the party in the state, an indication that the national officer was toeing the line of the Nyesom Wike-backed Tony Okocha-led faction, which he said was not recognised in two court rulings.
Nwauju had issued a statement on behalf of the APC in the state, urging the chief judge to respect the court order on impeachment,, which debarred the chief judge from proceeding any further on the motion from the House of Assembly. Morka had responded to this on a television interview, doubting the right of Nwauju to speak for the party, thus showing preference to the other faction.
Calling on Morka to resign, Nwauju, who termed the impeachment move a legislative coup, said the APC was alarmed at the continued ridicule of court rulings by the national officer. “We are therefore calling for his disbarment, because Suit No. PHC/3592/CS/2023 (Sam Sam Etetegwung Vs APC) and Suit No 3859/CS/2024 (OkwuJoe Brown Ndke Vs APC), both nullified the purported dissolution of Executives elected in October 16 2021 and voided the kangaroo congress conducted in November 2023, thereby giving Mr Nwauju the audacity to speak for the party in Rivers.”
He went on: “Since we are practicing a Constitutional democracy and our Party built on progressive ideals to defend democratic practice and promote the rule law, Morka has lost the moral ground to continue to act as a national officer of our great party having elected to come on national television to promote partisan interpretation to subsisting court rulings over the party leadership question in Rivers APC.”
He said the alleged misleading narrative was too dangerous to be ignored by any true member of their party, praying for the party to mobilise and win elections in Rivers for Mr President.
“Again, we are also aware that the National Working Committee, outside of the National Executive Committee (NEC) is the conscience of our party and should not continue to condone persons who are out to promote divisiveness over and above internal party cohesion.”
He quoted sections of the party’s constitution and said Morka must be speaking his personal opinion.
“Morka is a trained lawyer who should know better but has willfully chosen to look the other way because the crisis profits him economically. We believe it is now time for the NBA and specifically, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Council to investigate and review the deliberate, scandalous conduct of Morka, whose comments and behaviour on national television are calculated to detract from the dignity of the court and cause irreparable reputational damage to the legal profession in Nigeria.
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“Morka’s unfortunate views clearly negate the culture, behaviour and spirit of a true party man. We therefore have lost confidence in him and demand his immediate resignation from office.”
The publicity secretary said there is a need to promote and foster the unity, political stability, and national consciousness of the people of Nigeria; to promote and uphold the principles and practice of internal democracy at all levels of the party; and to institutionalise, maintain and foster representative democracy, discipline and observance of the rule of law in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Nwauju who said state executive did not require Morka’s validation to function, made it clear their faction would not allow Morka to continue disparaging them or to continue with his alleged contemptuous comments which not only negate the rule of law but also breach their rights and privileges as valid elected Executives of the Party in Rivers State as affirmed by the judgment order of August 12 2024 delivered by Justice S.H. Aprioku of the State High Court.
Nwauju raised alarm over alleged threats to his life over his principled stance on protecting the sovereignty of their Party Constitution, “But let it be known to these anti-democratic and agents of darkness, that these threats to personal safety cannot deter us from the truth.”
