Okocha’s G23 Demands Disbandment of SIECs

Edith CHUKU

The political crisis in Rivers State is far from being over. A new group known as G23, suspected to have been floated to put the government of governor Siminalayi Fubara in constant check has been created under the leadership of Chief Tony Okocha, the APC caretaker committee chairman.

On Monday, Okocha addressed journalists in Port Harcourt, where he called on the National Assembly to amend the 1999 constitution to allow INEC conduct local government elections across the country.

He stressed that LG elections be removed from the hands of states independent electoral commission and expressed the belief that the election of local government leadership if conducted by INEC will be free, fair and credible.

At the press conference, Okocha also addressed other issues revolving round political crisis in Rivers State, such as the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court judgment on the state house of assembly saga, condemned the alleged meddlesome attitude of the House of Reps member from Imo State, Ikenga Ugochinyere, on Rivers crisis, among other issues.

He explained that with the then financial dependence of local government on the state, it was impossible for “the council not to do the biding of the governor else the governor will dissolve the council and nothing will happen but today we have had financial autonomy for local government via the judgment of the supreme court.

“The issue of election into office should no longer be the responsibility of the states’ independent electoral commission, because the governor will use it as another means of getting back what they feel they have lost because they fund the SIEC, and it’s the reason why in all states where they have conducted elections, all the positions were won by the governor’s own party, does that suggest democracy, it doesn’t.

“So, we are also using this opportunity to plead with the National Assembly to immediately either by resolution or how so ever, remove the issue of election of local government leadership from the hands of the states independent electoral commission, let INEC; a body saddled with conduct of election be responsible for all elections in Nigeria, so that the ground will be free, fair and credible.”  

Okocha who stressed that he was addressing the press as the leader of G23, explained that, “G23 is an organization that encompasses the 23 LGAs and we had thought that we should isolate the leadership of that group so that they are also part of this briefing today. G23 also gaskets to the ward and to the units in Rivers State.

“We had thought that there are issues that we need to address, and those issues are very crucial and salient especially as it concerns the polity called Nigeria and Rivers State particularly, where we come from.

“We have listened, we have heard from some persons that we have decided in our meeting to tag them ancient and medieval meddlesome interlopers. These groups one, I am told is led by Ikenga Ugochinyere, who is a member of the House of Representative, and flaunting a group with the nomenclature of G60s.

“We have today decided to condemn in concrete and absolute terms, the activity of a man who should be responsible that has turned himself to a hireling of Rivers State government and the governor.

“It beats our imagination that Ikenga Ugochinyere who I am told is from Ideato Local Government of Imo State and represents the people in the green chambers, it beat our imagination that his concerns, instead of the gully ridden roads that characterize his area, instead of the flood issues that is sweeping almost away some communities and villages in his area, he has said practically nothing, his village is at the center of IPOB and the very brutal agitations.

“Ikenga Ugochinyere is well known to me, this is his stock in trade but I worry that at the stage that he has attained in life, the stage where you were elected to represent your people, there are certain things you drop, somebody must grow up, as responsible as he ought to be by virtue of the position he occupies, he ought not to be a hireling, but he has chosen that part and we are here today as Rivers people, we have the right to discuss issues that pattern to Rivers State.

“Ugochinyere is not from Rivers State, neither does he represent any constituency that has anything to do with Rivers State, order than that he has seen Rivers State as a conduit pipe to siphon money from a government that is rudderless, you know when we talk about this rudderlessness of a government you will appreciate what we mean.

“Now, it is no longer Rivers people speaking for Rivers State but hirelings, somebody from Imo State, Ugochinyere is the one now talking for Rivers State government.

“I don’t know if you remember that immediately after the Court of Appeal’s judgment, the Honourable Commissioner for Justice, an Attorney General Rivers State was taken to task by the media people, and what was his response, he said that the position of G60 is the position of Rivers people, Rivers State, isn’t that ridiculous, that the position of G60 as enunciated by Ugochinyere was the position of Rivers State government and we felt that it is laughable that it is Ugochinyere who will over rule decision of court of appeal.

“We condemn Ugochinyere and his machinations in Rivers State and advise him to concentrate. We have not heard one bill, one motion sponsored by Ugochinyere concerning what is happening in his own state. His own home, the roads there are gully ridden, death trap, the community is almost washed away by flood. We urge him to represent his people as was elected and leave Rivers State alone.”

Okocha also lauded the prodigies of the FCT Minister, insisting that placing Ugochinyere and Wike side by side was a categorical mistake. He added that, whether “you like Wike or hate him, you cannot take away the fact that the FCT Minister remains a great achiever.”

On the judgment of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, he said, “the Court of Appeal in a case instituted by Rt. Hon. Martins Chike Amaewhule and 26 others versus the state, granted all the prayers before them by the appellant, that is the Martins Amaewhule led state house of assembly and gave a

consensus judgment, and said that all the actions taken by Justice C.N Wali and D.G Kio were in error.

“In the case of Wali, it was a case of assuming jurisdiction on a matter that you ought not to handle, it’s simple principle of law, it’s commonsensical that you should know that if you don’t have jurisdiction on a matter you don’t venture and the court said you don’t have jurisdiction and so whatever you did you are on your own, you did not follow the law.

“On the issue of Kio, I think the proper way to define it is the same way Abiola in his pitori proverbs, he will say you cannot abort a baby that has been delivered, he also said that you cannot shave someone in his absence, so, that it was a case of shaving someone in the person’s absence and the court frowned at it that the principles of law, the principles of jurisprudence do not support such activity and they nullified all they did and the court went ahead to say status quo ante bellum, that you should return to situation before hostility started, before any court matter.”