A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), in Rivers state, Tony Okocha, has sparked mixed reactions after he publicly admitted that he was involved in rigging local council elections during the tenure of former Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
Okocha, who served as Chief of Staff to Amaechi from 2007 to 2015, was recently ousted as the Rivers APC Caretaker Committee chairman by a Port Harcourt High Court presided over by Justice Sika Aprioku.
Okocha, in an interview on a Channels TV programme, said his involvement in the election rigging during Amaechi’s administration is not a secret.
The APC chieftain asserted he should be praised as a whistleblower before the TV host interrupted, saying election riggers should be behind bars, to which he objected.
He said, “On the issue of whether I rigged the election, I did not hide it. I should be praised as a whistleblower.
“If you were an armed robber yesterday, and today you came to confess that you stole something somewhere yesterday. Are you saying that the law will now take a retroactive effect? The answer is No.
“The reason why we say and keep saying is because of what is going on as we speak. When you have an idea of a thing and you see the other person also wants to use the tactics that you already know. You will shout. That is the reason why we went to court.”
