The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has cautioned the party’s national leadership against actions that could trigger a repeat of the internal crisis that undermined the party’s fortunes during the 2019 general elections in the state.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the factional spokesperson of the party in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, appealed to the National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwada, and the National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, to take decisive steps to safeguard the party’s interests and prevent a resurgence of past divisions.
The party accused the National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, of publicly questioning the legitimacy of the APC leadership in Rivers State. It maintained that court judgments in Suit No. PHC/3592/CS/2023 (Sam Sam Etetegwung vs APC) and Suit No. 3859/CS/2024 (OkwuJoe Brown Ndke vs APC) nullified the dissolution of the executives elected on October 16, 2021, and invalidated the congress held in November 2023 to replace them.
According to the statement, the rulings affirm the existing leadership structure of the APC in Rivers State and confer authority on Nwauju to speak on behalf of the party. The Rivers APC further argued that Morka, a legal practitioner, had compromised his moral standing as a national officer by allegedly offering what it described as partisan interpretations of subsisting court judgments on national television.
The party also accused the National Publicity Secretary of downplaying what it termed a self-serving impeachment process against a serving APC governor, described as the undisputed leader of the party in the state, while allegedly advancing the interests of a non-party member.
The Rivers APC called on Morka to resign his position and urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Council to investigate his conduct, alleging that his public comments were capable of undermining the authority of the courts and the integrity of the legal profession.
It further appealed to the National Working Committee (NWC) to uphold party unity and internal cohesion, warning that continued tolerance of divisive actions could weaken the APC’s prospects in future elections in Rivers State.
