Tony Okocha: Local Government Elections Are Even More Important Than Presidential Polls

Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tony Okocha has insisted that local government elections carry far greater importance for citizens than presidential polls, defending the conduct and turnout of the recent exercise despite opposition criticism.

Speaking in an interview on ARISE NEWS on Monday, Okocha rejected claims of voter apathy and dismissed suggestions that candidates were pre-selected by political godfathers, insisting instead that the grassroots had come out in large numbers to choose their leaders.

“I would make bold to say that local government elections are even more important to people than presidential elections.

“It is at the grassroots where you elect the councillor, the chairman of the council and for many of our people, the local government headquarters is their own government house. That is why they throng out in large numbers to elect someone they believe will be amiable and responsive to their needs.”

He explained that in Obi Apo Local Government Area alone, with over 660,000 registered voters, the turnout numbers reflected reality rather than manipulation. “When you talk about 360,000 votes generated for the local government election, it should not surprise anyone. If just half of those registered voters cast their ballots, it is very possible. People came really, really out.”

Okocha argued that critics who pointed to empty streets or low crowds in Port Harcourt misunderstood the electoral process. “Anybody alleging voter apathy is somebody who was walking on the streets of Port Harcourt. There are no polling units on the main roads. If you walk the streets and conclude there was apathy, then you are wrong. The wards and polling units were where the real crowds gathered to vote.”

On suggestions that some candidates had been imposed or pre-selected, he was emphatic that the party fielded candidates based on merit. “In the states, anybody that ran an election under the platform of the Progressive Congress defected to us, and we tried as much as possible to field them if they were good candidates,” he said. “There is nothing called voter apathy as far as we are concerned.”

The chieftain also dismissed rumours of institutional collaboration between the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers. “There is nothing called collaboration. APC is APC, PDP is PDP. There is no collaboration whatsoever,” he stressed. “What people are calling collaboration is simply the renewed family an amalgam of APC members, PDP members, Labour Party members, AA members and even independents who share common goals. That is not party collaboration, it is political alignment at the grassroots.”

Pressed further on the role of former Governor Nyesom Wike, he argued that his political movements could not be termed formal collaboration between the two parties. “Wike is a PDP member serving under an APC government. That is not collaboration, it is family relation.”

Turning to the state’s governance, Okocha addressed the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the tension it had generated in Rivers. He insisted that federal intervention was necessary to prevent instability. “He was executive governor, he was not impeached. There was tension in the state and the president could not have stood aloof while a state that generates more than 50 percent of Nigeria’s economy went into fire.”

“The president intervened, proclaimed a state of emergency, and the governor was suspended, not removed.”

With the suspension set to expire, he acknowledged that Fubara could soon return to office. “If the suspension has expired, as I’m told, it means that maybe on the 18th of September, the executive governor that was elected returns to office,” he concluded.

Erizia Rubyjeana 

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