By Godwin Chukwumaechi
Former Caretaker Committee chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Tony Okocha, has been elected chairman of the party.
The congress which was held on Saturday despite a court order stopping the congresses of the party in Rivers State saw Okocha emerging chairman of the party unopposed.
Prior to the election, a Port Harcourt High Court had sacked the the Okocha-led Caretaker Committee describing it as illegal and pronouncing the Emeka Beke-led elected executives the authentic APC in the state.
Two members of the party’s faction led by Emeka Beke also secured another court order stopping the congresses of the party from holding but the Okocha group fully backed by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party went ahead to conduct the congresses.
Chief Okocha chosen as the chairman to lead other 28 others as the new executive committee of the party.
Saturday’s election was conducted on voice votes where every position went unposed with several chieftains of the party on hand to witness the exercise.
The congress and election were conducted by a national delegation led by Adoye Omale with the Rivers State INEC Resident Commissioner, Dr. Johnson Alalibo also on hand to witness the exercise.
Other notable officers and bigwigs of the party that graced the congress include the zonal chairman, Victor Giadom; former senators, Magnus Abe and Wilson Ake and former Ambassador Maureen Tamuno.
In his speech after the election the new Chairman vowed that the APC would form the government of Rivers State in 2027 saying that the era when the party would not participate in elections in the state was over.
He said he was humbled by the size of crowd at the state secretariat and their self-sponsorship to the congress saying; “Your APC will contest elections unlike before and win all elections this time. Just help us to snatch the governments from local to state. APC is on course.”
He said Nigeria was on the move, pointing at the Port Harcourt Refinery as an example.
He said the refinery has been revived and that soon, Warri and Kaduna ones will follow all pointing to the transformative job President Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the party was doing.
