As the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress( APC) holds its primary election for governorship aspirants on Thursday, indications are that Senator Magnus Abe and some of his supporters in the party will not participate in the exercise.
Senator Abe represented the Rivers South-East Senatorial District at the 7th assembly and had since 2015 shown his ambition to become the governor of Rivers State.
That ambition and the process of achieving it have pitched him against his erstwhile friend, immediate past Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi since 2015 in differences that have translated to huge losses to the APC since 2018.
Political watchers had thought the huge losses of the 2019 general elections when the disagreement cost them participation in the election would have been a motivation for them to seek settlement but unfortunately the two are sticking to their different extremes at the expense of peace and unity in the party.
But events so far, ahead of 2023 have shown that the way of APC in Rivers State is still unclear without a permanent resolution of the crisis.
The way to Thursday’s primaries has been really bumpy for the party through the revalidation exercise, various congresses, screening of candidates and so on, it has been one form of drama or the other threatening the smooth conduct of the party’s programmes.
So it was not surprising when a prominent member of Abe’s faction and former Chief of Staff, under the Amaechi-led administration, Chief Tony Okocha, announced that their faction of the party would not be participating in the primaries.
In a statement on some verified social media platforms, the South-South Coordinator, Bola Ahmed Tinubu Support- Vanguard, BATS-V described the primaries as a “skewed, biased and prejudiced process”.
He clarified, in response to the myriad of calls from his colleagues saying; “Please kindly take this as an official statement that we are not participating in an already skewed, biased and prejudiced process in Rivers.
“All our teeming Supporters are advised not to dissipate scarce energies in a process that will not pass muster”.
He enjoined all their supporters to remain vigilant as “we continue to bring you up to speed with unfolding events. More than resolutely keep faith with the struggle. He who laughs last, laughs best”.
Asked whether he was also indicating that Senator Abe was part of the boycott, Okocha said: “I don’t speak for Magnus.
His Spokesperson is here, only take it that BATS~V works with Magnus as her leader in Rivers State”.
Meanwhile the Rivers APC governorship primaries are underway at the Adokie Amasieamaka Stadium Stadium in Igurita, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
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