Erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party, nPDP, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has dismissed Tony Okocha’s claim that the 27 embattled Rivers lawmakers never defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Naija News reports that Tony, recently sacked as the Chairman of the Caretaker committee of the APC in Rivers State, said in an interview in Abuja that he was trying to lure the lawmakers into his structure, but they refused.
However, in a statement made available to journalists, Eze said Okocha could not openly admit to the lawmakers’ defection from PDP to APC despite its media coverage.
According to Eze, Okocha is shielding the lawmakers from serving the consequences of their actions.
Eze also condemned Okocha and other loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for granting interviews and issuing press statements using Rivers APC without authorization.
He added that Nigeria cannot progress regarding respect for laws when people disobey laws and court verdicts with impunity and walk away because they are close to power.
He said, “The former lawmakers escape the consequence of their action goes to show the depth of horrible damage that has been done to the fabrics of Nigeria by politics and the band of cheating players of the game. Morals have indeed gone to the dogs.
“It was the same Tony Okocha who also boasted in a public glare about how he used to manipulate elections, write election results, and hand them over to electoral officials for announcement.
“To this day, this man suffering from moral bankruptcy is walking freely in the streets of Port Harcourt.
“A few weeks back, a competent court of jurisdiction asked Okocha and his circle never to parade themselves as caretaker committee chairman and members for the Rivers APC, yet they keep issuing press statements on the party’s letterhead. That is the level at which impunity now operates in our polity. No respect for laws.
“It is morally corrupt and pricks the human conscience to hear Chibuike Ikenga, an ousted Spokesperson to the Kangaroo Rivers APC caretaker committee, still speak from his ousted position to ask Governor Fubara to abide by the court judgement and reconcile with Wike or face embarrassment.
“One wonders where Chibuike Ikenga and his likes muscle the courage with which they display these levels of defects in their character. The court dethroned somebody from his former illegal position yet the person still lays claim over the office to and summon the courage to advise another on court verdicts.
“Tony Okocha, on his part addressed the press in Abuja last week where he claimed he is still chairman, caretaker committee of the Rivers APC and that the 27 former Lawmakers who defected from PDP to APC at the glare of the world never did so and that Wike is still a member of the PDP.
“With the level of moral decadence in display particularly on the Rivers Political playground, the likes of Wike, Okocha, Ikenga, the 27 peo-Wike former Lawmakers and their irks would have been banned from holding public office if the Nigerian Society were a sane one.
“Nigeria cannot make any progress in terms of respect for laws when people disobey laws and court verdicts with impunity and walk away with it because they are close to power or hold public office. Okocha, Ikenga and their group would have been cooling off in a correctional facility by now if we were a serious country.
“What society condones the insolence and blatant disregard for law and court verdicts as we see in Nigeria especially from the Wike group. “