The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Chief Emeka Beke, has criticized 27 state lawmakers for denying their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Beke, a close associate of Rotimi Amaechi, stated that the lawmakers, led by Martin Amaewhule, cannot retract their APC membership after publicly switching parties.
Speaking at a news briefing on Saturday, Beke addressed Amaewhule’s claims of still being a member of the PDP.
He stated, “I want to put it on record that those 27 members of the House of Assembly are still members of the APC. The law is clear on defection. They cannot run away from the truth because we all know and saw it when they defected to our party.”
“In our last meeting, we sent out invitations for them (the pro-Wike lawmakers) to attend, but they did not. Right now, we are focused on local government elections, and after that, we will take necessary actions concerning them,” he added.
He further confirmed that all APC candidates for the upcoming elections had successfully undergone screening and were cleared by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC,.
“The APC is fully prepared to participate in the local government elections on October 5. Our candidates have been duly screened and approved,” he affirmed.
Beke also praised Governor Siminalayi Fubara for ensuring a fair and competitive environment for all political parties in the upcoming elections.
“This marks the first time in the political history of Rivers State that a governor is genuinely committed to providing equal opportunities for all parties, allowing the people of Rivers to freely elect their preferred chairmen and councilors,” he remarked.
Recall that the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, had issued an order to suspend all state expenditure.
The development comes after Governor Siminalayi Fubara failed to propose the 2024 budget to the House within the seven-day deadline.
The Assembly had determined that the Governor is no longer permitted to approve or authorize expenditures from the state’s consolidated revenue fund.
