A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, has faulted the recent political developments surrounding Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s reported alignment with the ruling party, insisting that the faction of the APC that welcomed the governor is “not the APC recognised by law.”
Speaking during a discussion with ARISE NEWS on Thursday regarding the recurring political turmoil in Rivers State, Cole lamented that the state continues to make headlines for negative reasons rather than progress, describing the situation as both troubling and dangerous for Nigeria’s democratic process.
Concerning Governor Fubara’s defection narrative, Cole acknowledged that under normal political practice, a sitting governor would naturally assume leadership of the ruling party in the state. However, he stressed that this convention does not apply in the current situation because the APC structure that received the governor lacks legal standing. He pointed to an existing court judgment that, according to him, nullified the process under which the current factional leadership emerged. As a result, he argued that all actions taken by that faction are legally invalid.
He said, “We have a governor who defected into APC, displayed a card 001 as the leader of APC. Under normal political terms, a governor is the leader of the party in the state, under normal political terms. The main issue that Fubara has in the first instance is that the APC that welcomed him is not the APC recognised by law.
“There is a standing judgment that dismissed this entire process under which Tony Okocha stands as APC, which means that everything being done on that leg is illegal in the first instance. Now, everybody has ignored that, pushed that aside and continued to run. It is a dangerous precedent down the road, which means that Governor Fubara, as leader of APC, is not the leader of the APC.”
Cole warned that ignoring the court ruling and proceeding as though no legal issues exist sets a dangerous precedent. He maintained that despite claims and public displays suggesting otherwise, Governor Fubara cannot be regarded as the leader of the APC in Rivers State under the existing legal framework.
Clarifying his own position, Cole said the APC faction he belongs to remains the only one recognised by law, regardless of endorsements or recognition from party organs at the national level.
“Under the agreement of law and the proper one that stands, the APC that is recognised by law, I don’t care what is happening, whether the national says it is this one or not, the one recognised by law today is the APC under which I stand, of which I am the leader of that APC. At the end of the day, true justice and judgment will determine all of this.”
Melissa Enoch
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