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I Was Hated, Called ‘Okoro Hausa’ Because of APC – Okorocha
Rochas Okorocha, the immediate past governor of Imo, has lamented the humiliating treatment meted out to him by his party the All Progressives Congress (APC) in spite of his sacrifices and financial contributions to the party.
Mr Okorocha, the senator representing Imo West Senatorial District, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that he got “evil reward” from the APC for his commitment to the course of the party, especially in the South East.
He noted that he had to go contrary to his kinsmen and political associates just to ensure that the party was placed on a sound footing in Imo and in the South East, but was surprised that his reward was a suspension.
“If you recall, I was called all sorts of names like ‘Okoro Hausa’ and that I was building mosques and all that were associated with it.
“But I kept deaf ears because I felt that I was on the right course with my people.
“I was instrumental to bringing Adams Oshiomhole as national chairman of the APC and he cannot deny that fact.
“I took the troubles of APC in the South East and the APC I see now can easily tell Gov. Emeka Ihedioha to come to its fold if only he can fight Rochas.
“That is really an unfortunate situation and it has weakened my spirit and my faith to the party because I thought we are family working to advance the course of this nation.
“But the way it is going, it does not look like there will be a solution. And there seems to be silence everywhere.
”I don’t even know my stand about my suspension because, for some time, I don’t know what is happening in APC.
“But for the silence all over, it just looks as if it is normal.
“So, I am just waiting and thinking of what next to do but I am still a member of APC and I love the party and will support it,” Mr Okorocha said.
According to Mr Okorocha, there is a need for a change in the party’s leadership to ensure the party does not collapse after the exit of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Okorocha added that Mr Buhari’s reputation appeared to be the binding factor of APC in addition to the fact that the North was arguably the major decider in Nigeria politics.
“I have never thought of leaving the party; I feel that time will take care of most things but my only worry is that the party may disappear with the exit of President Buhari.
“For the moment, Buhari seems to be the strongest pillar upon which this party is built.
“If nothing is done to correct the injustices in our party at the national level, then, I fear that this party may disappear with Buhari’s exit.
“Our party is already busy thinking about presidency in 2023 and not supporting the issue of governance which is what we have right now.
“The score of our party or its assessment depends on what we have done with governance and what we have done with politics.
“These are some of the problems we have and thinking that being APC is a platform to catch political power.
“People have begun to zone where the president will come from and where he will not come from, leaving the issue of governance; so, these have been some of the challenges we have as a party but I hope they will be addressed.
“But that cannot be complete unless we do some surgical movement in the leadership of the party,” Okorocha added.
He noted that Nigerians would judge their leaders on the basis of what they had done as a government before they could decide what to do with them in 2023.
The former Imo governor further said that he was not in a hurry to make decisions on the next line of action following his suspension from the party.
He, however, revealed that his inlaw, Uche Nwosu, would return to APC from Action Alliance (AA) if he eventually reclaimed his governorship mandate.
On the allegations of misappropriation of funds during his tenure as the governor of Imo, Mr Okorocha challenged Gov. Ihedioha to try to surpass his record rather than the negative campaign against his administration.
He also said: “I challenge any government to do 50 per cent of what I achieved in Imo. I left N48.5 billion for the new government to take off.
“It is either the government of Ihedioha is confused or it is not relevant, if not, no normal thinking person will begin to witch-hunt me after all that I achieved in Imo.”
He blamed his travails on some unnamed top leaders of the APC whom he accused of conniving with opposition elements in the state to undermine him politically.
Mr Okorocha commended the judiciary for upholding his election describing the tribunal’s ruling as a “proof of his innocence” after INEC accused him of obtaining victory through duress.
(NAN)
Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal by a London court after bribery charges brought against her were dismissed.
The Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday acquitted the former minister of all charges, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Reacting to the judgment, Alison-Madueke expressed relief and said she and her family had endured years of emotional distress over the case.
Speaking to News Central, she said she has remained in the United Kingdom since the legal proceedings began 11 years ago.
She said: “I’m just thankful to God, it’s been arduous, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, friends, my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt and for my son.
“It has been a hard journey, but I tell you this, God will always do as He will. God will be God and God is not a man that He should lie; when He promises you something, He will see it through.
“For almost 11 years I have been here. I did my job to the best of my ability.”
The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, says she did not see any report that led to the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Kingibe made this disclosure on Wednesday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.
She said she was at a retreat with Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, when she heard about the report.
“I never saw the report that led to Natasha’s suspension. I was at a retreat. I had earlier stated that I was there with three or four other senators who are members of the committee.
“We attended the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, signed the attendance register, and I later left for the tax reform retreat, which I considered more important at the time.
“It affects my constituents much more than disciplining a senator, and I figured that the other people who were not part of that committee would take care of it.
“I even complained to other Senators, specifically to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. I complained to him very bitterly that I had not seen that report. I didn’t see it then. I have not seen it till now,” she said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to stay the execution of the judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
The Commission also threw its weight behind a notice of appeal lodged by the political parties.
Addressing a three-member panel of the appellate court on Tuesday, the electoral body said it was shocked by the decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja to deliver the judgment despite an order that stopped him from doing so.
INEC, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Haliru Mohammed, decried that it was not notified that the judgment would be delivered, saying it only heard about the court’s decision through media reports.
“My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media.
“We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay the execution of the judgment.”
Likewise, counsel to the ADC, Mr. Shuaibu Aruwa, SAN, told the appellate court that Justice Lifu notified the party of the delivery of the judgment via WhatsApp.
Insisting that the decision of the high court was an invitation to anarchy, counsel to the ADC urged the appellate court to invoke its powers and sanction Justice Lifu for disrespecting the judicial hierarchy.
“Sincerely, my Lords, a lot has happened to the judiciary and this profession. What the trial judge did was dare this Court of Appeal by insisting that no one could arrest his judgment, even after his attention was drawn to the stay order from this court.
“The action of the trial judge calls for swift and extraordinary measures from this court. We have come to the stage where this court should press the reset button.
“We are calling on this court to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction under Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“We urge this court to take disciplinary steps by immediately suspending that judgment. This court has the power to protect its own integrity. We pray this court suspends the judgment immediately without further delay,” ADC’s lawyer submitted.
The other parties also drew the attention of the appellate court panel to the fact that on June 20, INEC would conduct by-elections across six states of the federation.
They contended that if the judgment were not stayed, it would create problems across the country, maintaining that the Court of Appeal has inherent powers to act in a supervisory capacity and not allow its orders to be disregarded by lower courts.
The appellate court is still hearing submissions from the other parties in the matter.
It will be recalled that aside from the ADC, the other parties the high court directed INEC to deregister are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
According to the court, the five political parties failed to meet the constitutional requirements to warrant their continued existence and participation in future elections.
It barred INEC from further according recognition to the parties, accepting nominations of candidates from the affected parties, or giving effect to their activities for the purpose of participating in the 2027 general elections.
Moreover, Justice Lifu ordered the defendants to stop parading themselves as registered political parties in the country.
He held that there was merit in a suit filed against them by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL).
The group, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, prayed the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to remove political parties that fail to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations.
It was the position of the plaintiff that the five political parties listed as defendants had persistently failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration.
The former legislators stressed that the requirements include winning at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the national, state, or local government level.
They told the court that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and by-elections conducted by INEC, thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.
