…Emeka Beke, go home and rest – Ojukaye – A high court in Rivers State has said that the caretaker committee (CTC) led by Tony Okocha of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should give way and that the elected executives led by Emeka Beke should return to power.This automatically created two executive committees that run the APC in the state, but the National Working Committee (NWC) came out to recognise the CTC.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
On August 21, 2024, a sizeable crowd gathered at the CTC office on Aba Road (the other APC state secretariat is at the New GRA in the city) and soon, Okocha began to address them.Okocha took time to reel out his profile and personality, but did not mention ‘chairman of CTC’.
Instead, he mentioned his status of a chief, a Knight of St Christopher of the Anglican Church, a peace ambassador, and others. He has served in many capacities in governments including serving as chief of staff in the Government House in Port Harcourt.
He tried to show that he was not the one that lobbied to be named CTC chairman and gave the background of the birth of the CTC.He said: “The National Working Committee (CTC) with powers from the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the APC went through the records, and decided that the way forward was to dissolve it’s EXCO in Rivers State after many groups went to them to argue they were the authentic ones.
“This development threw us up. We did not contest with anybody. I was not even interested. The NWC gave us initial six months, and they have now extended it to another six months. This means we will be in the saddle till December 2024.”To show he is working, he said history was made in Abuja during the walk (in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu) where he said over 50,000 persons turned up.
He called it real organic support.On the vexed issue of local council elections in the state, Okocha, often regarded as the late Obi Wali kinsman, said the CTC is in court over the matter. “So, the much I can say is that the case is seeking to restrain the agencies that conduct elections such as the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC). I was the one that kept asking the RSIEC to conduct an election by rolling out the timetable within the 90 days stipulated by the law.”
He however, declared: “Local government election will not work.” He said the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was likely not in the race, too. He made caricature of the process, saying the rest that may contest is ‘gwo gwo gwo, Ngwo’. “Do you want to be part of this?”
