Says letter contravenes party guidelines
Express worry over desperation, hopes powerful bloc won’t come after members of pro-Abe’s group
Admin l Saturday, May 19, 2018
PORT HARCOURT, Rivers, Nigeria – Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, who are in support of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe’s quest to vie for the party’s governorship ticket in the 2019 gubernatorial election on the platform of the APC in Rivers State have expressed their reservation on the authenticity of the letter issued by the national headquarters of the party, on Friday, May 18.
According to the letter purportedly signed by the National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun; National Secretary, Mai Bala Bunu; and the National Legal Adviser of the party, Muiz Banire, SAN, the ward, local government congresses held on Saturday, May 5, and Saturday, May 12, were cancelled and rescheduled for Saturday, May 19, and Saturday, May 20, respectively.
The state congress earlier slated to hold, on Saturday, May 19, was rescheduled for Monday, May 21. According to the stakeholders, the said letter which was released on social media, between 6.P M and 7. PM, Friday, May 18, remains suspicious. They maintained that the letter, considering its importance to the veracity of its expressed order to members of the party and the future of the Rivers State chapter of the APC in 2019 general elections was not properly signed; had no date and was not stamped to reflect that it, indeed, emanated from the national headquarters of the APC, in Abuja.
Addressing a news conference, at Senator Abe’s campaign office, Freedom House, along Evo Road, GRA, Phase 2, in Port Harcourt, on Saturday, May 19, former attorney-general of Rivers State, Worgu Boms, who read the text insisted that a letter of such magnitude should have been stamped with the date of issuance clearly stated.
The stakeholders stated: “From the letter purportedly issued on Friday night, May 18, on the controversial ward and local government congresses held in Rivers State, the guidelines of the party concerning the conduct of congresses have not been altered in any way.The undated letter signed by two of the signatories mentioned in the letter rescheduled the purported congresses which are already a matter of litigation before the court. From the content of the letter, we, hereby, state our position on the matter.”
“The guidelines of the party concerning congresses stipulates that that nomination forms should be completed and returned 24 hours before any congress is held. And that position has not been altered, or changed, or modified in anyway. The said ward congress is on now less than 24 hours after the national officers from the party’s headquarters, in Abuja, cancelled the process that had transpired and ordered that fresh congresses be conducted.”
“As it is, aggrieved aspirants have less than 24 hours to fill their forms and make complaints to the organisers of the congress should they have any reason to do so, which is against the electoral guidelines of the party. Going by the tone of the said letter, there is no provision for a stakeholders meeting as provided for by the electoral guidelines of the party to inform members of the party on how the congresses will be conducted.
“It is impracticable to fix congresses in quick succession of days. And even if the congresses were spaced into weeks, there is a crucial and major roadblock to what they are doing.”
“There is a subsisting court case: Suit No BBC/78/2018 pending in a Rivers State High Court in the Rivers State judiciary in the Port Harcourt division. The party is aware of that matter and the order of the court restraining further conduct of any congress pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit on June 16.The order of court was given in an Inter-party matter and not as an exparte motion. We did not go to court. Senator Abe did not go to court. Twenty-three members of the party went to court on the grounds that they were denied their rights to fully participate in the ward congress of the party. They attached their membership slips to authenticate their membership of the party.”
“A look at parties to the suit shows that the lead claimant is one Ibrahim Umar. From his name, he is a Muslim and until proven otherwise, is not an indigene of Rivers State.”
“And with the dangerously short notice and the commencement of the Ramadan Fast, how are we sure he is still in the state. He may have traveled out of the state. Even if he is available, and even if he his willing to abandon the suit, what about the other 22 claimants in the suit: have they been reached at such short notice?” Some of them, too, could have also traveled out of the state.”
“What is most important is that there is a deliberate attempt to ridicule the judiciary by frantically trying to hold congresses in whatever name when there is a subsisting order of the court suspending the conduct of any congress pending the determination of the substantive suit. This is the crux of the matter.”
Boms emphasised: “What is playing out now is that there is a tendency by a powerful bloc within the Rivers State APC towards lawlessness and affront towards the judiciary not only in Rivers State but across the country. This is not good for our image as a party that is seeking to govern the state or at the national level in 2019.”
“Any attempt to hold any ward congress or any congress for that matter will be seen and regarded as a contempt of court which no responsible individual should be associated. It is noteworthy to say that every court guides and guards it’s integrity firmly and jealously and will do anything under the law to protect those values.”
“From the foregoing, we wish to state that the APC cannot validly hold congresses until the subsisting judicial order restraining the APC from holding further congress is vacated. We call on our members not to participate in any congress until the court order is vacated. We will not be part of the jamboree.”
In answer to a question, Elder Chidi Wihoka, representing Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency, said that even as a federal lawmaker and stakeholder of the party, he has seen the Chairman of the Rivers State APC Congress Committee, Josiah Dogo.
“He has not invited us to any stakeholders meeting before, during and after the congresses they claimed to have conducted. None of us supporting Senator Abe’s governorship ambition has seen Mr. Dogo. We hear he claims to be conducting congresses in Rivers State, but we are yet to see him.”
On the letter released by the national headquarters of the APC via social media, Wihoka noted that the signature of the national chairman of the party appears to have been scrawled in red ink by someone else other the real owner of the signature.
“Our position is that the document does not qualify to be regarded as a letter from the headquarters of a national party such as the APC. The whole charade is becoming too petty. It is simply disgraceful.”
Hon.Whioka stressed: “We as members of the National Assembly have not been informed of any change in the conduct of the congresses in Rivers State. So, I and my colleague, Hon. Maurice Pronen issued a statement dissociating ourselves from whatever they are doing today.”
“We have stated clearly that we of the National Assembly will not join those who want to disobey court orders. We are members of a party of change. We cannot now change at the middle of the road from good to bad.”
Responding to a question, a former Commissioner for Empowerment Generation, Dr. Ipalibo Harry, wondered “why the pro-Amaechi faction is so desperate in the conduct of the congresses in the state.”
“We have noticed a frightening desperation by the other group to close the court; to stop the court from making any judicial pronouncement on this matter. We are surprised that the national legal adviser of the party did not sign the letter on a crucial matter on the issues in contention.”
“Now, we are confronted by another act of desperation. Between 6. PM and 7. PM, we saw a letter on social media announcing rescheduled ward congress to hold within 12 hours. Why are they so desperate? I hope they will not be too desperate to come after us?”
