Rivers APC members protest to Oshiomhole, want Sen. Abe declared gov candidate

Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Rivers state on Friday told the party’s National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole that the state would not like declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Zamfara for the State.
The party members stated this at the National secretariat where they protested in support of Senator Magnus Abe governorship candidature.
According to them,  if something was not done fast about the Rivers State APC, it would have the same pronuncement INEC gave to Zamfara State.
INEC on Tuesday wrote to APC, stating that the party would not field candidates in Zamfara State since the party failed to conduct primaries in the State.
APC, through a letter from the National Chairman has replied the Commission, stating that the party had not violated the guidelines of the electoral body.
The Rivers State APC referring to Zamfara state, asked the party leadership and President Muhammad Buhari to rescue the party from the hands of the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Ameachi.
They demanded that the court ruling on Rivers State APC should be obeyed by the party, just as they also demanded for Direct primaries in the State.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters numbering over one hundred, Hon. Anosike Odowa said, “We are members of APC from Rivers State. We are here this morning to register our grievances, to speak to the National Chairman of the party and the NEC of our party that one man called Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation has gone ahead to disobey Court judgement. He has gone to bring his business partner to be the candidate of our party and we are saying that Tonye Cole, we don’t know him.
“We are members of this party, we struggled for this party and we believe that APC, while we left PDP to APC is because of impunity and injustice. Now,  the National Chairman of our party, should do the right thing by accepting the result of direct primaries which Distinguished Senator Magnus Abe emerged as the winner.
“The Court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Port Harcourt has ruled and voided every activities of the purported primaries conducted by Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi. Indirect primaries conducted by Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi has been voided and in law it cannot stand. If APC wants to win Rivers state then Magnus Abe is the Governor of Rivers state. We will stop at nothing, we will  fight our last strength to ensure that justice must prevail. We are stakeholders in this party and I will advice the National Chairman to be upright and Amaechi should stop pushing him, this party is not Amaechi Peoples Party, it is All Progressives Congress not Amaechi Personal property. We want to ask that the National Chairman should live up to expectation and do the right thing. We know him to be a man who is upright but he should not allow his integrity to be questioned in this matter. Rivers state is for direct primaries and Magnus Abe emerged winner of the direct primaries.”
On the allegation of Abe working for the governor of Rivers State,  Nyesom Wike, Bethel Oko Jaja said,  “We want to say without fear and contradiction that senator Magnus Abe is a true APC member, he has never betrayed the confidence reposed in him. When Mangus went to receive the bullet. Everybody was saying that ‘this is a true APC member’, did he tell them to disallow them from contesting the primaries that they were supposed to contest. When we wanted to do our ward, local government and state primaries, did he say they should not contest? When they deprived people and they went to a court of competent jurisdiction to address the issue they said he is working with Wike, today they are accusing him.
“He remains the only committed APC member that has worked for this party. You recall that in 2015, when PDP won election in Rivers state and it was nullifed and in December 2016 to be precise that election was conducted. The only man who won his senatorial district is Magnus Abe.
“He gave APC a face in Rivers state, APC would have been lost and forgotten today in Rivers state. Magnus Abe stood and won the election. Today they are accusing him of fighting for his right, he is fighting for the good right of Rivers people, he is fighting to liberate the people impunity perpetuated by one man.
“We are sending a strong message across to the national chairman of All Progressives Congress, our own brother, Adams Oshiomhole, to leave up to expectation, the leader of this party and commander-in-chief of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari to please intervene in this matter.
“We are committed members of APC in Rivers state. Impunity must not prevail, one man should not hold the party to ransom. We will stand against it. We believe in direct primary and on the one that was conducted on 30th September Abe emerged the winnner and remains candidate of the APC come 2019 governorship election in Rivers state.”
The protesters were recieved by the APC Director of Organization, Abubakar Kari, who assured them that the party would genuinely looked into their case.

Leave a Reply