Tony Okocha-led APC secretariat hit by explosions in Rivers

The gate of the secretariat and the doors were shattered by the explosion which happened Saturday morning while local government election is taking place in the state.

Explosives destroyed buildings and others property at the Tony Okocha-led secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

The gate of the secretariat and the doors were shattered by the explosion which happened Saturday morning while local government election is taking place in the state.

Speaking to Channels TV’s correspondent, the Chairman of the faction of APC in Rivers State, Tony Okocha narrated how the incident happened.

“About 3:20am some gun-trotting young men with their explosives and all that, came here and dropped the first explosive, maybe because the one they dropped here did not detonate, they came back the second time to burn the structure – look at the security house is gone.

“Behind me you will see that there was also an attempt, our people came and we were able to quench the fire,” Okocha said.

He alleged that the incident was politically motivated and blamed the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, whom he said had earlier declared war over the local government election.

“Is APC secretariat here any voting unit? There is no voting unit here. So, it was deliberate to see how they can annihilate us, it is deliberate to see how they can embarrass us, it is deliberate to see how they can decimate us,” Okocha said.

The police are yet to comment on the incident.

Amid controversies surrounding the Rivers local government poll, accreditation and voting has started in many polling centres around Port Harcourt City.

Police authorities in the state had said they will not provide security for the exercise, citing a court order.

However, RSIEC late Friday said the election will go on as scheduled.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we emphasize unequivocally that the 5th October 2024 Local Government Council Elections in Rivers State will hold as scheduled, and there is no going back,” RSIEC said in a statement by its Commissioner for Civil Education/Public Affairs Tobin Tamunotonye.

Quoting the RSIEC LAW of 2018 and the judgment of Hon Justice I.P.C. Igwe of the High Court of Rivers State delivered on 4th September 2024, and the 1999 Constitution, he said the agency is empowered to conduct local government elections in the state.