Rivers 2019: APC members loyal to Sen. Abe take protest over guber ticket to Abuja

Rivers 2019: APC members loyal to Sen. Abe take protest over guber ticket to Abuja

Friday, October 12, 2018 4:44 pm


The protesters in Abuja on Friday

Okafor Ofiebor /Port Harcourt
Scores of members of the All Progressives Congress from Rivers State loyal to Senator Magnus Abe, and a governorship aspirant on Friday besieged the National secretariat of the the party in Abuja to demand that the National Working Committee of APC obey the judgment of the Port Harcourt High Court which nullified the purported indirect primaries conducted in the state.
They also demanded that the NWC should respect the will of members of the party in Rivers state by accepting results of the direct primaries,  which they claimed were validly conducted in compliance to the resolution of National Executive Committee of APC on the mode of primaries.
The protesters who carried placards with various inscriptions like , “Rivers APC does not belong to one man’; “We stand with the NEC decision on Direct Primaries” “;APC must obey court judgement in Rivers State; Direct Primary is the way out” ,”We will resist imposition of a non party member on us”, the protesters allegedly attacked President Muhammadu Buhari’s billboard during their protest in the capital city.
Leader of the protesters, Ambassador Anosike Orduwa, who claimed to be from the same state constituency with Rotimi Amaechi,  the Minister of Transportation, said that the President should call the Minister to order and tell him to allow the will of majority of members of Rivers APC to prevail.
He also accused the Minister of Transportation of causing many problems in the state chapter of the APC. He said the Minister is working to impose a non party member, Mr Tonye Dele Cole , who is Amaechi’s business partner on the party. “Rivers people have a sacred duty to resist that”, he said.
Anosike said that APC members in the state want Senator Magnus Abe who said has the aura, and the capacity to win election to fly the party’s flag.
He said that was why party members turned out in their numbers to elect him in the direct primaries as their gubernatorial candidate.
Also speaking, Hon Friday Nkeeh, a serving member of the Rivers State house of Assembly said Amaechi has turned the party into his private company where he decides everything all by himself without consultation against the spirit of openness, respect for internal democracy and fairness to all which is the hallmark of President Buhari’s politics.
He reiterated that Amaechi bringing his business partner who is not a party member to fly the gubernatorial flag of the party will not work.
The protesters called on President Buhari, the national leadership of APC to show good example by ensuring that the party obey the court judgement that nullified indirect primaries and accept results of the direct primaries which were conducted in compliance with the directive of NEC of the party.
They said anything other than that will portray the party as being against the rule of law and the change mantra of the APC.
The protest was peaceful from beginning to the end, a fact appreciated by party officials who addressed the protesters.

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