There appears to be no end to the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State.
This is as the national protocol director of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, PCC and the Coordinator of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Vanguard BATV, Chief Tony Okocha, said that the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi is no longer the leader of APC in Rivers State because he voted for the presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar during the February 25 presidential election in Rivers State
Chief Okocha who spoke to Journalists in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital at a press conference on Sunday said there was no way a person that supported and voted for Atiku against the APC presidential candidate will continue to lead the party in the State.
Chief Okocha said that with his input and support Rivers people gave to Tinubu through the instrumentality of state Governor,r Nyesom Wike the leadership baton of the APC in Rivers State falls on him (Tony Okocha).
He alleged that APC governorship candidate in Rivers State, Pastor Tonye Cole has never worked or supported Tinubu presidential bid in Rivers State, arguing that there was enough evidence to prove that both Amaechi and APC governorship candidate in Rivers State voted against Tinubu during the presidential election.
“A new Leadership of APC has emerged in Rivers State. The governorship candidate of APC started demonstrating disdain to Tinubu long ago. Was he not the chairman of PCC ?, was he able to convene PCC meeting? How will he be on the fringes and I was the one organising APC in the State. The only reason why he came to APC rally in Rivers State was to collect his flag . Does he think that Tinubu is a mad person not to know he did not vote for him?
“Ameachi has ceased to be APC leader in Rivers State because he voted for Atiku against APC presidential candidate. Of course, APC governorship candidate has not broken from the vestiges of his master, the former Minister of Transportation. He and his master, the former Minister of Transportation voted for PDP presidential candidate and he also must have voted for PDP .
“If PDP had won, we would have been shut out. So the man who helped APC to win is Rivers people with the support of governor Wike. We said we are going to reciprocate the questure of Rivers people by supporting Wike”
“I want to advise members of APC in Rivers State that APC must not go in aflame because of election because power is transient. So, Rivers State must not go in flames everybody should be seen to be anti-violence. We hear that there are some senti-fugal forces intending to infiltrate the good people of APC in Rivers State to cause mayhem in Rivers State. My advice is that we should not allow them to have their way. Violence is violence nobody knows who and where it will be affected.
” So let’s face our elections on the 11th of March given the environment that we are into. We must be pragmatic and proactive and we must reciprocate by supporting the person that has put us in the map.”
Meanwhile, APC Spokesman in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju in his response to the claim of a change of leadership of the party in the state, said Chief Tony Okocha is not an APC member in the State.
NWAUJU said Chief Okocha is merely a member of an independent campaign outfit for Tinubu but not an APC member.
“Are you not aware that the campaign outfit which he belongs to here in Rivers State is torn apart because of money allegedly donated to them by the Governor of Rivers State?
“Has he been able to account for all the monies passed through him? Even the PCC/ICC he belongs to is at daggers drawn with him and he has not been able to assert himself on them. Please, remind Tony Okocha that when the pillars of APC in Nigeria will sit down to talk, he won’t be there,” he said.
It will be recalled that when Tinubu came to Port Harcourt for his presidential campaign
