The Rivers State government has refuted the allegation made by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that Governor Siminanayi Fubara was orchestrating a plan to obtain interim court orders to halt the state House of Assembly from functioning legally.
Tony Okocha, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of APC in Rivers State, made the allegation at a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Thursday. However, the state Commissioner of Information, Joe Johnson, promptly responded, stating that the governor and the state government would not engage in any illegal activities.
Okocha’s claim suggested that the governor was intending to influence certain judges in the state to obtain an interim order declaring the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, as illegal. He alleged that the governor sought to use this order to appoint caretaker committee chairmen for the local government areas in the state.
“These are his plans, and he is doing this to use the order to appoint caretaker committees in local governments, disregarding the warning of the president, whom he claims to respect. But let me be clear: we will strongly oppose such negative moves by a man who should protect the dignity and integrity of Rivers State. If the government of Siminalayi Fubara becomes obstinate, he will face civil disobedience. It’s just natural,” he stated.
Reacting to the allegation, Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Joe Johnson, refuted the claim, stating that the government or the governor does not engage in underhand dealings.
He said, “There is nothing like that; we are not given to backyard business. My governor does not do anything that is illegal, and he is not interested in any illegality.
“Whatever will come from the courts will not come from the backdoor. We are not like them, and the governor has said that he will surprise them, so he will surprise them.”
