The APC in Rivers State has been torn into two factions as a result of the battle for the control of party structure in the state between Abe and the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged a former senator who represented Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Magnus Abe connived with Governor Nyesom Wike to destroy the party through needless litigations.
The APC in Rivers State has been torn into two factions as a result of the battle for the control of party structure in the state between Abe and the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
The party was barred from fielding candidates for the 2019 general elections in the state as the result of the crisis.
However, in 2022, Amaechi’s faction outmaneuvered Abe to take over the structure of the party in the state.
The Supreme Court in March recognised Isaac Ogbobula, a loyalist to the immediate past Minister of Transportation, as the authentic caretaker committee leader of the party.
Abe’s loyalists have been dumping the party for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) over the court ruling.
Chris Finebone, the spokesperson of APC in a statement on Wednesday said the former Senator and his supporters had, by their actions and utterances, long ceased to be functional members of the party.
He also blamed them for the exclusion of the party in the ballot in 2019.
The statement read, “However, it has also come to our notice that a few persons that are loyal to Senator Magnus Abe have also resigned recently. These are individuals who have, for the past couple of years, spoken and acted in every way to destroy the APC in Rivers State. Led by Abe, these persons tried all they could to factionalize our Party in the State. They connived endlessly with the governor of Rivers State and used some elements in the State Judiciary to frustrate and destroy our Party through needless litigations.
“The culmination of their evil machinations was the exclusion of Rivers APC from the ballot in 2019. Evidence exists how Senator Abe and his lieutenants broke into celebration the day the Party was excluded by the court from participating in that election due to their litigation.
“After the 2019 unfortunate development, Abe continued to receive support from outside the State and persisted in undermining Rivers APC through every imaginable means principally through frivolous litigation executed through his proxies. At a time, they attacked and completely destroyed the then Rivers APC Secretariat at Forces Avenue, Old GRA, Port Harcourt. Recently, they also hired hoodlums and attempted to destroy the present Secretariat of the party.
“Tired of Abe's antics, majority of his supporters openly joined the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the State while others found their way back to the mainstream of the Party. However, it recently came to our attention that Senator Abe and the few persons still with him had concluded plans to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on whose platform Abe will run for governor, hence their persistent hype to the effect that Abe will be on the ballot come 2023.
“In what appears to be a carefully planned exit plan, close associates of Abe started resigning from the APC and making heavy weather of their exit in the social media as part of their exit plan as though they have been functional members of the Party, just to hoodwink the public.
“This press conference is essentially to explain to you and the public that Rivers APC considers the formal exit of Abe and his associates from the APC as good riddance. We liken it to a successful excision of a debilitating cancer from the body. Rivers APC can now heave a sigh of relief from the sustained destabilizing onslaught by Senator Abe. We wish him well as he joins the SDP. We pray that he takes everything he exhibited in APC particularly his nuisance value to his new party so that the world would see him for who he truly is.
“We make bold to state without an iota of doubt that Senator Abe and his supporters had, by their actions and utterances, long ceased to be functional members of APC. They shunned and refused to participate in the Membership Revalidation exercise that was carried out nationwide by the Party. They also abstained from other legitimate activities of the Party, making their recent purported resignation a mere formality and part of their face-saving exit strategy aimed at deceiving the public.
“We appreciate your understanding that there is no blanket exit or exodus of well-meaning members of Rivers APC. We believe that you and the public would appreciate that our Party is, by far, better off without Abe and his motley supporters.
“Be informed that an ongoing process of reconciliation led by the Party Special Contact Committee is proceeding apace. The outcome of the good job the Committee is undertaking will be concluded early enough for us to consolidate and kick off campaigns in September.
“Rivers APC is glad to, once again, emphasize that we were very careful to ensure that the Party conformed to the Electoral Act 2022, Party rules and regulations, and the Nigerian Constitution all through the various congresses and primaries that culminated in the emergence of the governorship Candidate for our dear Party, Arc. Tonye Patrick Cole, mni In spite of being an established and successful Entrepreneur and Philanthropist, he recently attended the University of Oxford and, on graduation, was inducted into the prestigious Transformational Leadership Fellowship of Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government. Hope you all would agree that he is well-equipped for the task ahead to redeem, recover and turnaround our beloved Rivers State.”