The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State have been charged by the All Progressives Congress (APC) with being behind the October 29, 2023 explosion that shook the state assembly.
Tony Okocha, the state’s APC Chairman of the Caretaker Committee, made the accusation on Sunday during the APC Thanksgiving Dedication Service at the Port Harcourt Polo Club, New GRA Port Harcourt.
Fubara was given a challenge by Okocha to show the state’s citizens that neither he nor the PDP are to blame for the sacred chamber’s fire.
In addition, he charged that the governor should have formed an inquiry committee to probe the incident, which sparked a rift in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
According to Okocha, “He declared that he would expand upon the consolidation and continuity plan.”
“He is uniting to set the Rivers State House of Assembly on fire.
“In my capacity as the head of the opposition party in Rivers State, I hereby issue a challenge to the governor and the PDP, asking them to assert and substantiate their innocence regarding the assembly complex fire.
“If you are the head of a state, an arm of government, a building—the most stunning of all in Nigeria—that was set on fire, and you went there only to start saying things that will happen tomorrow, then let it happen today.
Furthermore, you did not form a committee or a panel to investigate the cause of the fire. No, you do not, do you? It ought to have been the initial thing to cross your path.
Speaking about the party’s leadership and organizational framework, Okocha assured Rivers State APC members that the organization would no longer be referred to as a “social club” and would instead be based on a strong foundation.
He assured members that they would be included all the way down to the unit level and apologized for the party’s past transgressions.
The new APC leadership in the state, according to Okocha, who also serves as the state representative on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Management Board, will drive the PDP out of Rivers State.
The purpose of our meeting today is to make plans for the future.
I have an obligation to express my regret to all of the APC Rivers State members. We sincerely apologize.
“Over time, we have made mistakes and lost our opportunities.
The APC in Rivers State will no longer function as a social club going forward. APC will have a strong and stable base while it is under our direction and your leadership.
“APC will be firmly established in each of your Wards. I’m not going to construct a state-based APC.
“This APC is going to be the APC that runs in elections, not the APC that abstains from them.
He declared, “This APC will drive this garbage PDP out of Rivers State.”
At the Thanksgiving dedication service, Professor Abdulkarim Abubakar Kana, the APC’s National Legal Adviser, also spoke. He did so on behalf of APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje. Professor Kana said, “I am here on the mandate of our party leader, his excellency, the Commander in Chief and the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
“Our National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, is here on his behalf.
“It is my duty and instruction to formally invite the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including the Right Honorable Martins Amaewhule, the Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol, and the entire speaker, to our wonderful celebration.
“The All Progressives Congress is a party of the people, a party of ordinary Nigerians.”
Honorable members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have the support of the people in this difficult situation, so please acknowledge this, His Excellency the President and His Excellency the National Chairman.
