A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, Tony Okocha, has said the court judgement that sacked his committee is a plot to 'hijack the party' in the state.

Okocha stated that the 'inflicted crisis' in the Rivers state chapter of the APC is another factor that can frustrate President Tinubu’s re-election in the 2027 poll.

APC crisis: Party chieftain sends message to President Bola Tinubu

As reported by The Nation on Friday, August 16, 2024, the APC caretaker committee chairman in the oil-rich state noted that courts lack jurisdiction over political parties' internal affairs; hence, they cannot handle matters such as picking a party's chairman.

Addressing reporters in Abuja, Okocha maintained that both Emeka Beke (the allegedly reinstated APC chairman in Rivers State) and Barrister Iheanyichukwu Dike have long been suspended from the state working committee (SWC) on allegations of engaging in anti-party activities.

Okocha explained: “We are in court. We are law-abiding. At our level, even when a judgement is made from the toilet, we will abide by it. But we have applied to the court of appeal for a stay of execution and an invalidation of that judgment.

"We are not fighting fisticuffs. We will use the law and we are ready to go the whole way to the Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court had ruled before that the courts should not meddle in the internal affairs of the party. The task of picking a party chairman is an internal affair of the party."

List of factors mentioned by Okocha

1. The court judgment that sacked his (Okocha) committee.

2. The "inflicted" crisis in the party.