By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described the call for the removal or resignation of the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, by the Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress, (APC) in the state as “laughable”.
The reaction was prompted by the demand made by Okocha in a press conference on Monday. Okocha had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the governor to either resign or face impeachment.
The factional Chairman of the opposition APC also accused the governor of mismanaging the state, stressing that Fubara’s administration had plunged the state into chaos.
He further claimed that the Supreme Court, in its verdict, indicated that there is no functional government in Rivers State, citing multiple infractions by the governor, which he described as impeachable offenses.
However, reacting to allegations by Okocha on Tuesday, the PDP’s Publicity Secretary in Rivers State, Sydney Tambari Gbara, dismissed the ultimatum, saying the man championing the demand cannot be taken seriously.
Gbara noted that Okocha issued the 48-hour ultimatum “without giving any cogent reasons”, for the governor to resign or be impeached.
The PDP spokesman asserted that Okocha “is a character that has been known in Rivers State political scene as a man who speaks from the both sides of his mouth, makes derogatory or illogical utterances that are not always in line with current reality”.
Gbara claimed that nobody in Rivers State takes Tony Okocha’s “comment seriously anymore because of his past antecedents. He is irrelevant.
“So therefore, this 48 hour ultimatum is obviously laughable and it is degrading our political landscape in Rivers State, bringing our state down as if we are mediocre and unserious people”.
Gbara, who accused Okocha of “trying to impress his pay master”, urged Nigerians, particularly Rivers people, to disregard the ultimatum.
He added that Governor Fubara “is on top of the situation in Rivers State and he is busy commissioning projects. He has no time to listen to characters like Tony Okocha”.
