The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has escalated its internal dispute, calling for the immediate resignation of the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, over comments linked to the deepening political crisis in the state.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Tuesday by the Rivers APC spokesperson, Mr Darlington Nwauju, the party accused Morka of undermining constitutional order, disrespecting subsisting court judgments and fuelling divisions within the party at a critical juncture.
The demand followed Morka’s appearance on a national television programme, where he reportedly questioned the Rivers APC’s stance on what it described as legislative overreach by the State House of Assembly, including moves perceived as an attempt to remove Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu. Morka was also said to have cast doubt on Nwauju’s status as the party’s recognised spokesperson in the state, describing him as an official of a “former executive”.
Rivers APC said it was embarrassed by the remarks, arguing that they ignored binding court rulings which, it said, had nullified the dissolution of the party’s executives elected on October 16, 2021, and voided the congresses held in November 2023 to replace them.
According to the statement, judgments in Suit No. PHC/3592/CS/2023 and Suit No. 3859/CS/2024 affirmed the legitimacy of the 2021 executive, thereby giving Nwauju the authority to speak for the party in Rivers State.
The party maintained that Morka, as a national officer and a trained lawyer, should have exercised restraint and fidelity to the rule of law, rather than, in its words, offering partisan interpretations of subsisting court decisions on national television.
“This misleading narrative is too dangerous to be ignored by any true member of our party who genuinely seeks to mobilise and win elections fairly in Rivers State for the President,” the statement said, adding that Morka had “lost the moral high ground” to continue in office.
Rivers APC further accused the spokesman of downplaying what it described as a self-serving impeachment process against a sitting APC governor, while allegedly defending individuals it said were not bona fide party members.
Questioning his loyalty, the party said Morka’s conduct had left “a black eye and a sour taste” among party faithful, not only in Rivers State but beyond. It also urged the National Working Committee (NWC) to act decisively in the interest of cohesion and warned against a repeat of the party’s setbacks in the state during the 2019 elections.
In a sharp escalation, the Rivers APC called on the Nigerian Bar Association and the Legal Practitioners Privileges Council to investigate Morka’s conduct, alleging that his comments were calculated to diminish the authority of the courts and damage the reputation of the legal profession.
The statement appealed directly to the APC national leadership, urging the National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwada, and the National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, to intervene and prevent what it described as actions founded on “a faulty legal foundation”.
