The faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara has cautioned the state police command against taking sides in the ongoing crisis within the party.

The faction also accused the embattled chairman, Aaron Chukwuemeka, of unlawfully occupying the party secretariat despite a Rivers State High Court ruling that nullified the ward, local government, and state congresses that brought his executive into office.

The acting state chairman of the PDP faction loyal to Governor Fubara, Dr. Robinson Ewhor, issued the warning in a statement released in Port Harcourt on Tuesday night.

This followed the continued barricade of the state PDP secretariat along Aba Road by police officers after both factions attempted to assume control of the building.

However, South-South correspondents report that Chukwuemeka eventually gained access to the secretariat, where he held a press conference while heavily armed policemen stood guard outside with their patrol vans. He has since continued to operate freely from the secretariat under police protection.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ewhor, addressing the media from a separate location, insisted that Chukwuemeka is no longer the party chairman in Rivers State, citing the judgment delivered by Justice Stephen Jumbo of the Rivers State High Court, which removed him and his executive members from office.

Chukwuemeka, however, maintained that he was duly elected, arguing that a Federal High Court ruling by Justice Peter Lifu validated the congress that brought him to power. He further claimed that the PDP’s national leadership supervised the congress and vowed to appeal the state High Court judgment, which he described as a “kangaroo ruling” and “not legally binding.”

Dr. Ewhor dismissed Chukwuemeka’s claims, labeling him an impostor.

In his statement, Ewhor said: “The attention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rivers State chapter, has been drawn to a press briefing hosted by one Aaron Chukwuemeka, an impostor falsely claiming to be the chairman of the PDP in the state.

“Ordinarily, we would have ignored his ignorance and baseless claims, but for the sake of public awareness, we must set the record straight.

“We remind Chukwuemeka and his associates that a subsisting High Court judgment has nullified the state, local government, and ward congresses his faction conducted under the PDP’s name.

“Even though those congresses were held in blatant disobedience of a court order, we, as law-abiding citizens, did not interfere in their illegal activities. Now, a court of competent jurisdiction has declared those congresses null and void.

“Accordingly, we warn the Chukwuemeka-led group to respect the court ruling and immediately vacate the PDP secretariat. They must cease all claims to the party’s executive committee and other unlawful activities.

“We are deeply concerned that, despite this well-publicized court judgment, the state police hierarchy continues to provide security cover to this illegitimate faction, enabling them to perpetrate their illegal occupation of the secretariat.

“We therefore urge law enforcement agencies, particularly the Nigerian Police Force, to remain neutral in this political crisis rather than aligning with individuals whose actions violate the law.

“By supporting lawbreakers, security personnel would only be seen as aiding and abetting illegalities in Rivers State.

“As law-abiding citizens, we call on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, the Director of State Security, and other relevant security agencies to ensure their officers uphold the law and refrain from being used to fuel political instability.”

Dr. Ewhor also urged PDP members and supporters to remain calm and not be provoked by what he described as “desperate political merchants” attempting to incite violence against law-abiding citizens.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, stated that she was in a meeting and asked our reporter to send a message. However, she had yet to respond as of the time of filing this report on Tuesday evening.