A frontline contender for the position of chairman in Saturday’s state congress of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Hon. Golden Ngozi Chioma, says he is in the race to transform the party from a mere birthday-wishing-group to an actual contender for electoral victory in the state.
This is as he warned that he will not hesitate to challenge the outcome of the congress in court if the process does not conform with the set guidelines.
Chioma is a strong member of the Magnus Ngei Abe camp of the party.
The one-time leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, made the submission in an interview on Tuesday.
“I am contesting to create a united front for the party, to rejuvenate it, and to make the party win election in the forthcoming election, where all members of the party will feel loved and wanted. No party member will be discriminated against for supporting anybody whatsoever. Once you are a member of the APC, you will feel entitled to participate in all activities devoid of discrimination,” he said.
The Etche-born politician dismissed insinuations that he is ineligible to contest as he did not participate in the recent revalidation exercise conducted by the party in the state.
“It is only the national leadership that can point to those who have been validated and those who have not. It does not lie within the purview of those who feel that they will continue to spearhead the spoiling of the party by segregating who has registered and who has not registered. The party is for all of us.
“The man FFK recently defected to our party. He was received by the highest member of the party, Mr. President. Is he not a member of our party? So what of me, a founding member of the party, a statutory member at that—who have never left. Should I be moved or segregated for any reason? Party politics is number not clownish loyalty.”
Chioma said he is confident that delegates will vote for him to return to the party in the state to winning ways.
“My hope is that reasonable people were elected delegates of our party. The mere fact that they are reasonable, and people of high value, it behooves on them to make hay while the sun shines; to make the party interesting, [to be able] to win election. It will not pay anyone to continue to remain subservient in clownish loyalty when we cannot win election. You cannot continue to hibernate with the notion that you own the party when you cannot win anything.”
“The desire of every delegate should be to vote for someone like me who can lead the party to contest and win election, not to continue to be a birthday-wishing group.”
He however, warned that he will not hesitate to challenge the outcome of the congress in court if it is hijacked.
“If they give us reason, we will not hesitate to challenge the outcome in court, but if they vote rightly, we will continue to support the party.”
