Tony Okocha had ceaselessly called for declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State for months. He saw every protest or confrontation as total breakdown of law and order in Rivers State and blamed Gov Sim Fubara.
Okocha has no apologies being seen as Nyesom Wike, FCT Minister’s point man in Rivers State. He supported the making of the FCT Minister, a PDP henchman, as the leader of the APC and point man for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (a president from the APC). It thus was Wike who made him Rivers State Representative in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as well as leader of the APC in the state with caretaker committee boss and later the elected chairman.
Okocha kept telling Nigerians and the Federal Government that Gov Fubara scored zero and that the state had broken down totally.
Now that state of emergency has come or has been made to come, Okocha, a chief in Rumuigbo in Obio-Akpor LGA of Port Harcourt, has described his reaction as ‘painful satisfaction’. This may be because the man he badly wanted out of the way has been suspended.
Most persons usually described Okocha as an ‘unserious’ man but this notion may have been at their peril. Now, the man who described himself as the opposition leader in the state and voice of the voiceless says the declaration is the best of all possible decisions to checkmate the brewing circumstances of what he called economic sabotage and general anomie that were trickling and bedeviling the peace in Rivers State.
In his message to President Tinubu, Okocha said; “I recall that in your very tight schedules, you took out time to meet with critical stakeholders in Rivers State, in the most serene environment in the State House, Abuja.
“That meeting was advisory and produced 8-Points Resolution as backup, which was read before the full glare of attendees by former governor, Peter Odili.
“I recall also that after every paragraph was read, you paused to ask if it was acceptable to all, and everyone responded bellowing a thunderous, affirmation. Thereafter, we signed the 8-Points Resolution on your table, beginning with Gov Fubara as he then was.”
He went on to show how Gov Fubara sounded satisfied with the Aso Rock agreement all through, saying that some elders back home changed the governor’s mind. “They counseled the governor never to accept your wise counsel as you lacked the powers under the constitution to so intervene. In all this route, the governor was the mastermind and financier. He watched through the sordid path of denigration and abuse of Mr. President with his snide comments which enlivened his cronies in the garb of elders.”
Okocha said as a party, they took out airtimes in the media to urge the governor and his men to refrain from the ceaseless attacks on Mr. President, whose only offense he said was the intention to return peace and tranquility in Rivers State.
He accused Gov Fubara of what he termed gross disregard of the law. “He chose the orders of the Court/judicial pronouncements to obey.” Many had also accused Okocha of not obeying court orders that nullified the leadership of the APC in the state.
He quoted sections of various court judgments he said indicted the governor but which he said the governor ignored especially that on no account should the Governor meddle in the affairs of the Assembly vis a vis, their carrying out of constitutional functions; and that the learned Jurist estopped the Governor from withholding the finances of the Assembly howsoever.
He accused the suspended governor of running to the Rivers State Judiciary to get a midnight judgment that sought to over rule the judgment of the Federal High Court and even the Court of Appeal.
Okocha also accused Gov Fubara of showing desperation including the raging flames on the iconic structure of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
He mostly accused the governor of appropriating funds from the consolidated accounts of Rivers State without the appropriation law. “The Supreme Court clearly noted that there was no government in Rivers State within the period under review as there was none existence of the Legislature. In their mathematical calculation 12.5% of 100% cannot constitute a quorum for legislative business.”
On the declaration of state of emergency, Okocha said they saw the zest in President Tinubu to have the self-inflicted Rivers State political imbroglio resolved. “For the second time, during the visit with you by the PANDEF, you alluded to the Rivers State case and urged the leaders to help in the realization and implementation of the Rule of Law and specifically the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court on the 28th of February, 2025.
“Despite the Presidential counsel, Rivers State became a beehive of activities for non-state actors who boasted openly to bomb pipelines and strangulate the nation’s economy and engage in lawlessness should Gov Fubara be impeached.
“We thought that it was an empty threat. They made good their boast by bombing and destroying crucial pipelines in Rivers State.
Kidnapping, robbery and blocking of major highways returned in droves.”
He said Gov Fubara did absolutely nothing to restore normalcy to a now fledgling State that he governed. Many citizens have absolved Gov Fubara of any wrongdoing in the bombings while said have pointed to Fubara’s accusers as the most probable suspects in the bombings.
Okocha said: “Your Excellency, Mr. President, your decision for a State of Emergency in Rivers State is rather painful, but critically examining the evolving scenarios, we can’t but welcome the timeous decision.
“An elder doesn’t sit to watch a goat deliver her baby on tethers. It’s painful to us because we laboured to get electoral victories in Rivers State in both 25th February 2023 (Presidential election), which was an unprecedented political landmark and 18th March, 2023 (Governorship).
“We thank you for the numerous appointments gifted Rivers State indigenes which our Party (APC) members have benefitted and still hopeful to benefit. Regrettably, not even the inconsequential position was extended to us by Fubara in reciprocation and regard to the rainbow coalition as hemmed up in Rivers State.”
He said his group was satisfied with Mr. President’s decision for the State of Emergency in Rivers State. “It was timeous. We heard the drumbeat of war and ethnicisation of a political imbroglio.
“The atmosphere in Rivers State became quaky so fast because of the unfortunate turn of event.”
In congratulating Tinubu for the action, Okocha said: “It is utilitarian to the extent that it brought succour and happiness to the greatest amount of Rivers people.
“We congratulate the square peg Sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Rtd) whose pedigree in administration and scintillating service to our nation speak volumes, who is appointed by Mr. President to temporarily superintend the affairs of Rivers State.
“As a Party of decorous and law-abiding citizens of Rivers State/Nigeria, we declare in advance, our unalloyed support and determination to work with him towards the realization of Mr. President’s good intentions.”
