Admin l Friday, August 04, 2017
PORT HARCOURT, Rivers, Nigeria – Deputy Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Peter Dike, and the Legal Adviser of the party, Chieme Chienweikpe, have jointly called for the total cancellation of the local government Congress that was purportedly held in the 23 LGA’s on Saturday, July 29.
Dike declared that no election took place in any of 23 local government Area of the State. He pointed out that in his position makes he is capable of saying what actually took place.
“The purported Congress never held in any of the 23 local government Areas. There was no time the state working committee of the party held a formal meeting to discuss the holding of local government congress in the state.”
“The flagrant imposition of delegates has severely divided the party. We in the APC left the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, in protest against impunity and lack of internal democracy. There was no nothing to show that election took place in any local government in Rivers State.”
The deputy chairman of the APC in Rivers spoke while addressing the National Appeal Committee which visited Rivers State to ascertain if the local government congress actually held in the 23 local governments on Saturday, July 29.
In his presentation, Barrister Chienweikpe stated that there wasn’t time that the state working committee met to deliberate on the purported Congress. He insisted: “As the legal adviser of the party in Rivers State, I can affirm that no local government congress took place in Rivers State. So, the names of those being released to the media are fake designed to give credence to an election that never took place.”
Former Commissioner for Labour in the last administration, Dr. Ipalibo Harry, the local government congress did not hold because the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaech, wants to hijack the party.
He declared: “The cause of the crisis in the party is because the Minister of Transportation does not want Senator Magnus Abe to be governor of Rivers State.”
“Let me say it now that representatives of the National leadership are here: “any attempt to deprive Senator Abe from contesting for the party’s ticket for the 2019 governorship election will decimate the party in Rivers State.”
Former Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Worgu Boms, said something must be wrong with the party leadership if in my capacity I don’t know anything about local congress in the state.
“Some people came from Abuja and checked into a hotel for two days. I was informed by a reliable source that all the voting materials were locked up at Amaechi’s residence in Abuja.” He asked: “If the electoral materials were locked up at Amaechi’s residence at Abuja, then, what materials did they use to conduct the purported election?”
Dr. Barinedin Mpigi. a Member of the House of Representatives, told the appeal committee delegated by the National leadership of the party in Abuja, disclosed that no federal legislator was informed of the purported local government Congress.
“The problem is because Senator Abe wants to be governor of Rivers State under the aegis of the APC. Amaechi says Abe cannot be governor in APC. Why then Is Amaechi unprepared to place the contest on who is most preferably by the people to a free, fair and credibly electoral contest?”
Two lawmakers in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Friday Oke-he, representing Kana State Constituency, and Matthew Dikey, representing Two State Constituency, revealed that the leader of the party in the state, Amaechi, has not met with them since their election.”
“APC members in the House board cabs to sittings. We are not members of any committee. Our leader, Amaechi, is not bothered. We call on the national leadership of the party to quickly intervene to save the party from disintegration”. The three man appeal committee was made of Kola Umonitukpan; Ibrahim Mohammed; and Rtd Col. Abdul Aziz Musa Yar’Adua.
