By Chesa Chesa
The recent Rivers State High Court judgment that sacked the caretaker committee of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and reinstated Emeka Beke as Chairman has been alleged to be a plot to frustrate President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
Chief Tony Okocha, the caretaker committee chairman recognized by the APC leadership in Abuja, despite the court judgement, told journalists at the weekend that former Minister of Transportation, and one time Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, has a hand in the scheming.
According to him, the intent is to hijack the party in the State and align it with the Peoples Democratic Party-led government there ahead ofthe 2026 general elections.
Okocha, who stoutly rejected the court judgement, said the APC was never part of the litigation as only its National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje was listed.
Detailing the genesis of the crisis, Okocha said that “Beke was imposed on the APC in Rivers state. I was a member, an ally of Senator Magnus Abe when he was fighting right inside the APC. The reason why we fought was ineptitude, political high-handedness and imposition. Beke was a product of these three issues but was imposed by the then APC leader, Rotimi Amaechi.
“The truth of the matter is that the party has a lot intellectuals, professionals and lecturers. We imagine how a person of lowly academic qualifications can preside over a meeting that some of us would attend but the APC leader then said they wanted somebody who had street boy mentality.
“But the truth was that he wanted a surrogate, a stooge who would do his bidding. We fought against it but the APC leader was then a Minister and his vestiges were here as leaders of the party.
“At the presidential primaries of the APC, Beke was the person who led the Rivers delegation of 56 delegates to vote for Rotimi Amaechi. That was how they scored 56 from the state.
“There is an intention to throw up Amaechi’s man and then he (Amaechi) becomes the APC leader and then use the APC to fight Mr President in 2027. We will never allow that.”
Okocha also accused Beke of acknowledging Amaechi as leader of the party in Rivers and the South South, and worked in opposition to Tinubu in 2023.
“After we won the election, Amaechi addressed the Press that Tinubu nominated the INEC Chairman and that the INEC Chairman worked with the current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike when he was at TETFUND and Wike was Education Minister. That person cannot be leader of the APC.
“He is the same person who warned our secretary to never invite him for any APC meeting. APC Rivers will never go back to the social club status that it used to be”, he declared.
