The senator representing Rivers South-East senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has reiterated that he will not leave the All Progressives Congress (APC), being a founding member of the party in Rivers State.
He stated that the APC is the only party whose philosophy and ideology is built on doing the right things in the country, adding that he will always work with others to ensure that right things are done in the party.
Abe, who spoke during an interactive session with journalists at his residence in Port Harcourt, the state capital, said, “Let me say clearly that I am one of the founding members of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State.
“I have worked with others, laboured to build the party in the state, and the party is a vehicle for the progress, peace and development of the state within our own political expression.
“APC is not just a political party, APC is more than a political party, it is an ideology that Nigerian have imbibe, which is an ideology of change. The believe that a group of people have come together to do things right, that is what APC represents. That is why we are here.
“So this group called APC is a group of Nigerians who came together to fight that things be done right in this country. So if I leave this group that is committed to doing things right where will I go to, if I leave a place where the philosophy is that things should be done right where will I go to.
“If I don’t help to make sure that things are done right what am I doing here. So people should understand that what we are doing here and what we will do is what the APC is about, which is to work with other Nigerians, to work with other Rivers people to see that things are done right.
“So there is absolutely no possibility that we would leave the party for what is right to go to anywhere people don’t believe that the right thing should be done.”
The senator, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on FERMA, noted that the ongoing leadership faceoff within the APC in the state is not strange, adding that the challenges can be surmounted if the leadership of the party allows fairness to thrive.
He said, “Let me clearly say that what is happening in the party ordinarily should not be strange, what is making it strange is that certain things appear to be targeted at a particular individual which should not be so.
“What is making what is happening in Rivers State look abnormal is that the people who should be neutral appear to have taken position even before the whistle is blown and trying to implement that position at the expense of other interest within the party and that is what is causing the friction in the party.
“If those who know the right thing to do decide to do the right thing, I don’t see the problem as being insurmountable. I think the most important thing is that everybody needs to appreciate, understand and realise it, yes we are leaders but the leadership is more than us, it cant just be about me.
“How do we bring people together to be able to achieve their own dreams and aspirations as well within the system that we are creating? That’s the challenge of leadership. And I think that the party has the appropriate mechanism to be able to rise up to that challenge and overcome.
He expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace of the Ogoni clean-up but commended President Muhamadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for their unflinching support to ensure that the exercise becomes very successful.
