Newscenter Media News The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Committee in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha, said on Friday that the state political crisis would persist unless Governor Siminalayi Fubara abides by the law.
Okocha stated this at a news conference in Abuja.
He was reacting to the recent court ruling on the disbursement of local government allocations in the state.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on Wednesday, retrained the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further releasing local government allocations from the Federation Account to the state.
She held that Governor Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget before a four-member Rivers State House of Assembly was an affront to the constitution.
The judge described Fubara’s receipt and disbursement of monthly allocations since January 2024 as nothing short of a constitutional aberration that must not be allowed.
She further held that Fubara’s action in implementing an unlawful budget was a gross violation of the 1999 Constitution he swore to protect.
In his reaction, Okocha warned the governor that blackmailing President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the court ruling would not solve the political crisis in the state.
He described Fubara as Wike’s political investment who was lifted from political obscurity by the minister.
“Wike is not, in any way, suffocating Fubara as is being alleged.
“Blackmailing President Tinubu and Wike psychologically over the recent court ruling will not help the case in Rivers because the law has to be followed.
“We stand with and by the court, and not with any strong man’s morality. It is not right for anyone to start proclaiming self-righteousness.
“Wike is innocent in the political crisis in Rivers and should, therefore, not be dragged into it.
“Wike brought Fubara to where he is today. He lifted him from obscurity to a political crescendo. Nobody is suffocating anybody. The fight in Rivers state is between Fubara and Fubara,” he said.
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