By Pascal Ibe
Claim
A channel on the X platform, Peter Obi Grassroots Mobilization, claimed that the former Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, stated that APC is no longer a political party but a party desperate to hijack power at all costs.
Verdict
This claim is MISLEADING. Although Mr Okorocha criticized the ruling party in 2021 when he was a Senator. However, the recent comments attributed to him by the X Channel as recent were quoted out of context.
Full Text
An X channel, Peter Obi Grassroots Mobilization, has shared the comments of criticism of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and attributed them to former Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha.
The X account attached an image of the former Imo governor briefing journalists and claimed he stated that APC is no longer a political party but a party desperate to hijack power at all costs.
The comments read, “APC is no longer a political party but a party desperate to hijack power at all costs, I am at the corner looking at them”
The post has already garnered over 70k views and more than 1k likes, according to X analytics.
Rochas Okorocha was the governor of Imo State from 2011 to 2019 under APGA and later moved to the ruling APC. He was also elected the lawmaker for Imo West senatorial district from 2019 to 2023.
Verification
This Fact Checker did a keyword search on Google search to verify this claim. FACTWATCH Nigeria also subjected the photo attached to the claim to Google Lens.
First, a closer look, indicated that the photo shows that this was when he served as a Senator. This means the image and comments are not recent.
We discovered that the photo alongside this same claim, was shared by a Facebook user in March 2023.
However, FACTWATCH Nigeria traced further found a report by TheCable in 2021 which confirmed that Mr Okorocha criticized the APC. However, the comments attributed to him by the X account were taken out of context.
According to the report in January 2021, the ex-Imo governor described the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a “hurried arrangement”.
“APC was a hurried arrangement formed to take power when the then government was drifting. APC would have been better until people who were not members of the party, people who came for a congratulatory message, hijacked the party and became lords.”
According to him, political parties in the country do not have ideologies and are only a vehicle to power.
Check this similar report here and here.
However, no reputable news outlets in Nigeria confirm this exact statement that was attributed to him recently by the X account, Peter Obi Grassroots Mobilization.
Conclusion
Mr Okorocha has criticized the APC before. However, the comments attributed to him by the X channel recently were taken out of context.
