…Calls on party members to remain calm
Former representative of Rivers South-East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has condemned the purported inauguration of Local Government and Ward Executives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State by the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon Rotimi Amaechi.
Abe, in a statement by his spokesperson, Parry Saroh Benson, described the inauguration as an act of impunity, pointing out that it was the same attitude of insensibility that has kept the party comatose in Rivers State.
The senator posited that any inauguration of caretaker committees without consultation of other stakeholders will only put the party in more chaotic situation.
He said: “It is this imperial approach to the challenges facing the party without the input and consultation of other stakeholders, that is responsible for the crisis in the party. It is clear that those who believe in the power of man are once again on the move.
“It is indeed unfortunate at this critical time in the political game, that the APC in Rivers State has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing, it appears that the minister and his supporters are still hell-bent on “their way or the highway”.
The end result of this kind of behaviour is not difficult to predict. As usual, it will end in failure. When it fails, Nigerians should note that the choice of impunity, disrespect for party members, exclusion of critical stakeholders, contempt for judicial pronouncements and petty arrogance, over humility and inclusiveness is the foundation of our serial failure as a party”.
Abe had in an earlier letter to the APC National Caretaker Committee Chairman, His Excellency Alhaji Mai Mala Buni dated the 5th day of December, 2020, advised the party on the need to review it modus operandi in Rivers state.
The letter titled: ‘The National Membership Revalidation Exercise: The Rivers State Situation’, reads in part: “I write as a concerned stakeholder to draw your attention in particular to the state of the APC in Rivers State where the party has largely been comatose, with no legal local government or ward structures, due to the inability/refusal of the party to obey the existing Judgement of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
This position of the party taken and sustained at the behest of certain individuals, has made it impossible for the party to make progress in Rivers State, all sorts of frivolous lawsuits which cannot in any way overturn the pronouncement of the Supreme Court are sustained to massage political egos, and create the illusion that there is a possible legal solution to the challenges of the APC in Rivers State that can sidestep the Supreme Court judgement. This is not true. The judgement of the Supreme Court remains final.
As the party embarks on the forth coming Registration of members across the country, it is important that I draw your attention to this peculiar situation in Rivers State, any exercise that is carried out in Rivers in continued defiance of the judgement of the Supreme Court without resolving this issue will result in another round of motion without movement.
The pressure being mounted on the caretaker committee to establish local government and ward caretaker committees for the party in Rivers without consultation with other stakeholders is nothing but a move to get the party to continue on the path of impunity in defiance of both law and reality.
The party must either find a political solution to its challenges in Rivers State or obey the judgement of the Supreme Court of Nigeria which the APC had refused to do under previous administrations.
Your Excellency, with all respect, it is the hope and expectation of members of our great party in Rivers State that your committee will break with this tradition of impunity and disregard for the law that subjugates the interest of the party to other interests, it is time to uphold the law, in other to breathe new life into the party.”
Senator Abe maintained that he will remain committed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State and continue with a broad-based consultation and reach out process aimed at finding workable solutions to the current challenges facing the party in the State.
The statement called on Ogonis to be alert in order to avert any sinister attempt to derail the project through foisting of puppets to drive the Ogoni clean-up.
