The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Felix Morka, says that the party will declare its position regarding the impeachment move against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngọzi Odu, “when it’s the time.”
Mr Morka disclosed this on Monday night when he appeared as a guest on ‘Beyond Headlines,’ a programme on TVC News.
|
|
The APC spokesperson stressed that the party is not disengaged from the political crisis in Rivers State.
“The fact that I’m not willing to comment on the Rivers crisis on your show does not mean that the APC is disengaged in Rivers State.
|
|
|
|---|
“We are a political party, and a responsible party at that. Our job is to govern our party maturely. When it’s time to share our positions or decisions (on the Rivers crisis), be assured that I will come here and share them boldly,” he said.
“But you know there are processes that must be enabled to do their job so that at the end of the day, we call it right.”
APC spokesperson disowns party’s faction in Rivers
A faction of the APC in Rivers State, led by Emeka Beke, had issued a statement urging the Chief Judge of the state, Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, to comply with a court order stopping the impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and his deputy.
The APC’s factional spokesperson in Rivers, Darlington Nwauju, issued the statement in response to a request from the state assembly to the chief judge on 16 January to probe the allegations of gross misconduct against Mr Fubara and Mrs Odu, a professor.
However, during the TV programme, Mr Morka disowned the statement from Mr Bekee-led faction of the APC in Rivers.
The spokesperson said Mr Nwauju does not speak for the APC in Rivers and has no authority to issue such statements for the party in the state.
“I know that I read a lot of reports about statements from APC in Rivers State in the media, concerning the executive officials of the APC in the state. The media should seek clarification on such matters from the party’s national leaders.
“Party officials at the state level who are members of the state working committee are the ones who are authorised to issue statements.
“I am not sure the individual (Mr Nwauju) you are referring to (is one of our members). He used to be in the old executives, but I don’t think he is currently an official of our party in Rivers State,” the APC spokesperson said.
Background
Due to a leadership crisis within the APC in Rivers State, the party split into two factions, both claiming to be the authentic leadership.
Tony Okocha leads one faction, while Mr Beke leads the other, where Mr Nwauju belongs.
While Mr Okocha’s faction has the backing of the APC national leadership and the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, Mr Beke’s faction is aligned with Mr Fubara, who defected to the party in December 2025.
The Rivers assembly on 8 January initiated the third impeachment proceedings against Mr Fubara since he became the state’s governor in 2023, amid a feud between him and his predecessor, Mr Wike.
The impeachment move came shortly after Mr Wike accused the governor of reneging on the terms of a peace deal brokered by President Bola Tinubu in June last year.
The Bekee-led APC faction in Rivers immediately rejected the impeachment plot against Mr Fubara, calling for a political resolution of the crisis.
The call appeared to have yielded results when four lawmakers withdrew from the impeachment move against Governor Fubara.
The assembly failed to reconvene on 15 January, fueling speculation that the lawmakers might be considering abandoning the impeachment move.
However, on 16 January, the lawmakers announced that the impeachment process would go on. Even the four lawmakers, who earlier withdrew their support for the impeachment move, backtracked and again expressed their support for it.
The assembly subsequently requested that the chief judge establish a panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against the governor and his deputy.
But hours later, a High Court in Rivers issued the order, which restrained the assembly and the chief judge from proceeding with the impeachment process.
