The Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress has criticized Governor Siminalayi Fubara for allegedly running Rivers State without an annual budget.
Okocha, who spoke in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, insisted that the Governor cannot present a budget before a three-man Assembly, which, according to him, is a “forum.”
Okocha accused the State Governor of infringing the rule of law, saying, “The era of strongman mentality is gone. The law has taken its place. There is no way a High Court can sit in judgment over a superior Court of Appeal. It is not done. It is a pity that senior lawmakers in this country will now come out to misinterpret the court judgment.”
The APC chieftain further accused the Governor of exhibiting dictatorial tendencies by his refusal to obey the court judgment, which authorised him to re-present the 2024 budget before the Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.
He said, “We are disenchanted by the disrespect for the rule of law by the Governor. Justice James Omotosho granted 15 reliefs in his judgment, but the Governor refused to obey them. You cannot run the state without an annual budget. But the Governor is doing so. You cannot present a budget before a three-man Assembly. The Appeal Court called it a forum.”
But in a swift reaction, the State Commissioner for Information, Joseph Johnson, said Okocha is out of tune with the realities on the ground and may not be aware of the laws of the land.
He said even the apex court agreed that the 2024 budget has been overtaken by time, as it has been well spent.
Recall that Governor Fubara filed an appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge a Court of Appeal decision, which mandated him to re-present the 2024 budget of the state to pro-Wike lawmakers, led by Martin Amaewhule.
But on February 10, 2025, Fubara, through his lawyer, Yusuf Alli (SAN), withdrew the appeal, following which the apex court dismissed it and awarded N2 million costs against the Governor.
Johnson said, “The 2024 budget has been spent. Rivers State’s 2025 budget is now running unhindered with no legal impediments. Even Mr. Okocha can confirm that Rivers State has never had it this good since inception.”
Okocha, however, wished that both parties in the case would be courageous enough to “heed the outcome of the Supreme Court judgment” when the time comes.
On this, the State Commissioner said Governor Fubara is a respecter of the law and expressed confidence that they are on the right path.
Speaking further, Okocha dismissed insinuations from some quarters that the 27 embattled lawmakers of the State House of Assembly defected from the People’s Democratic Party to his party.
Okocha said he never received the former lawmakers into the APC, saying that what happened at the Port Harcourt Polo Club in December 2023 was not a reception for the 27 lawmakers but an event to celebrate the constitution of the state executive council of the APC by the national body of the party.
Recall that in December 2023, at Polo Club, Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers announced their defection, adding that one of the major reasons for their action was that they had evidence that there was division in the party (PDP) and, at the appropriate time, they would make it public.
Okocha corrected the impression that he personally invited the lawmakers individually as friends for the 2023 event and not as Assembly members.
“There was no intention to organize a reception for what we were not holding. We were inaugurated in Abuja, and we chose to organize a reception and Thanksgiving for our members. It was not to receive the 27 lawmakers,” he said.
“We were misinterpreted to have received the 27 lawmakers into APC. That is not correct. We invited individual members of the Assembly. I have had a relationship with them over time. We tried to woo them into the party. I was intentional in reaching out to them to join us. We would have counted it all joy if we had succeeded.
“We want to tell Nigerians that the 27 lawmakers, led by the Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, never defected to the All Progressives Congress. What people flaunt on social media or television cannot put forth a plausible argument for them. The law is not about emotions. It is as strict as it is,” he stressed.
