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Tag: Abe

  • Rivers APC crisis ‘ll boost victory chances – Abe

    Senator Magnus Abe, representing Rivers South Senatorial District at the National Assembly has said that the current crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers will boost the party’s victory chances.

    Abe disclosed this on Friday in a statement signed by his spokesman, Mr Parry Benson, and released to newsmen in Port Harcourt.

    He urged the leadership of the party to do the right thing to sustain the unity, rather than taking the issues of the party personal, for it to come out stronger and victorious in the forthcoming elections.

    Abe stated that one of the issues that had brought the party to its knees was the failure to produce a governorship candidate that was acceptable to the law.

    “First of all, the issue of whoever that emerges as the candidate of the party, I totally subscribe to that, but what is the process by which the candidate would emerge.

    “This is the issue, when you use a process that cannot produce a candidate who is acceptable to the law.

    ”Our party is made up of human beings, people that have put their lives on the line to create and sustain the party called APC in Rivers State, they are still alive and not dead.

    “Those people have the right to fight for what they believe is right and I do not think that it will weaken the party.

    “I think at the end of the day, our party will come out stronger if we do the right thing,” Abe said.

    The senator said that the legal foundation on which Mr Tonye Cole candidacy was based, was very faulty both morally and legally.

    “However, if the leaders of the party decide to keep quiet and ignore such a trend, it may lead to party being completely shortchanged.

    He called on members of the party to speak up and help the party to stand in the state, noting that some members had suffered so much to put in place the party and should not be left without any option.

    “Whether it is Tonye Cole or I, it will get to a point where we see clearly that this is where we stand; then all of us must be able to come together and put aside our pride and our differences and help the party to survive,” he said.

    Abe insisted that lack of internal democracy in the party made Mr Dumo Lulu Briggs, one of the party governorship aspirants to dump the party.

    “If the process was free, fair and credible, how come people who participated in the process when it started didn’t accept it,” Abe said.

  • Abe: God told me to contest for governor

    Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers South-East) has said God told him to contest the governorship in 2019.

    A statement by his spokesman, Parry Saroh Benson, said Abe spoke during the cross over service in Bera, Gokana Local Government.

    He boasted that neither the scheming of men nor the artificial obstacle created by men would stop his dream from coming to fruition.

    The statement said: “A lot has been said about me, a lot has been said of me, a lot has been said on me, but one thing I will like to share with you all is that God told me to join the 2019 governorship race. And that is why no machination of men, no work of the hand of man, no artificial obstacle created by men will stop our dream from coming true.

    “We will not only run for the governorship of Rivers State in 2019, but we will be sworn in.

    “I am not afraid; we will continue our struggle.

    In any contest, you focus on what is important, and what is important now is that we have approached the court to declare us the lawful candidates of the party because we were the product of the lawful congresses; there was no other one.”

    Abe described 2019 as a year of hope for every Rivers man, “it is the prayer of everybody that we will witness positive changes in our homes. I believe that there is no power on earth that can stop the desire of a people whose time has come, and I believe that our time has come. No power can stop us.

    “We do not know what the future holds but we know who holds the future. So I wish everybody a Happy New Year. I pray that 2019 will carry our dreams to the future.’

  • Abe: I supported Amaechi to become governor

    Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers South-East) has said he didn’t betray Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, but rather supported him to become governor in 2007.

    Abe, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), insisted that neither the future of the party nor its members could be determined by an individual.

    He stressed that the persons who created the crisis in the party should admit their fault and apologise.

    Abe, who spoke yesterday in a statement by his spokesman, Parry Benson, said: “There is no point doing something wrong that has destroyed the fabric of unity, the bond of friendship, the mutual respect and the ability to work together existing in APC.

    “Somebody (Amaechi) can just get up for no reason whatsoever and turn friends into enemies, turn brothers against one another for no reason whatsoever. Simply because some people just want to show that they have power, and even as they watch the destruction that they have left in the party, they didn’t have the decency and courage to face up to what they have done, apologise and find ways to unite the people.

    “So, for us to move forward, people must have the humility to admit where they have failed, because if something is going well, who gets the credit? If something is going badly, who should get the blame?

    “The good news I have for you is that your faith, future and salvation cannot be determined by anybody. It will be determined by you, and I know that all of us have suffered and sacrificed so much to build APC in Rivers State.”

    Abe hoped that APC’s governorship candidate would win the election and be inaugurated on May 29, 2019, thus preventing Governor Nyesom Wike from being re-elected.

    He added: “We are ready to do whatever is needed to put APC where it belongs, which is in the Government House. Nobody can stop you from achieving what God has destined for you. So, when you have failed in your responsibility as a leader to put people together and improve their bond of friendship, what you should do is admit that you have not done well, and then have the humility to ask for help’’.

  • Abe to court: declare me APC candidate

    •Judgment on January 7

    Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers Southeast) has asked the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt to declare him the governorship candidate of Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2019 election.

    Abe’s lawyer Henry Bello urged the court to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare Abe and other candidates produced by the primaries he conducted authentic candidates for the party in 2019, following the voiding of the congresses and indirect primaries conducted by the faction loyal to Rotimi Amaechi group for disobeying court order.

    But the defendants’ lawyer, Kayode Alatoki, insisted the court did not spare any faction, stressing that the judgment said “congresses and primaries”, which were inclusive of any action conducted by anybody identified with the name, “APC”. He, therefore, urged the court to strike out the suit for its frivolity.

    Alatoki maintained that the Court of Appeal’s judgment of Wednesday did not disqualify Tonye Cole and other APC candidates nominated in the indirect primaries conducted by the Rotimi Amaechi-led faction.

    “There is no order from the Court of Appeal that APC should not field candidates for the elections, it only said the APC did not obtain leave to appeal against consent judgment, which made the court to strike out the appeal. If an appeal is struck out, you can always come back to do the needful.”

    Alatoki told the court that Abe’s motion seeking to be declared the rightful candidate for next year’s polls was frivolous and baseless, because, according to him, the High Court judgment voided and set aside all congresses and primary elections conducted by APC in the state, and so the judgment also disqualified candidates that emerged through the primary elections conducted in disobedience to the order.

    The lawyer also urged the court to not just strike out the suit, but dismiss it completely for lacking in merit, saying the plaintiff’s application that the judgment was particular to the indirect primaries conducted by the Amaechi-led faction was false.

    He insisted the action of the party within the period of the court injunctions, which also included the primaries purportedly conducted by the Abe group, were affected by the court order.

    But Justice J.K. Omotoso adjourned the matter till January 7 for judgment.

  • Abe urges govts to invest more on citizens’ education

    THE lawmaker representing Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, has urged government at all levels to invest more in the education of the citizens, while asking the Rivers State government to give its youths education that is second to none, as an oil-producing state. He stated this during the 5th edition of his annual Law School Students’ Support Scheme in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during which 50 Law students benefited. Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), stated that he initiated the support scheme in memory of his experiences when he was going to Law School in 1987 and his father had no money to give to assist him.

    He said: “When I went to the Law School in 1987, my father at that time was alive, but he was a member of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) and after the coup that took NPN out, my father was arrested and detained, his accounts were frozen and all his properties were seized. “He became very broke and had no money, but he was determined that I should be a lawyer. It was my elder sister that gave me a postdated cheque of N20,000.

    “The token I am giving in support of prospective lawyers is to encourage others who can do whatever little they can to know that no effort can be too much or too little, as far as education is concerned.” The senator, according to his spokesperson, Parry Benson, also reiterated that today, things were not any easier, pointing out that challenges abound everywhere, but what would define the child would be the quality of opportunities available, while urging the beneficiaries to work hard and be determined, despite whatever condition they might find themselves at any given time. He said: “If you are determined and you are hardworking, you can actually bring out the best in yourself. The best of everybody is in the stars. Avoid sharp practices or easy way to success, because such ways actually restrict abilities.

  • Abe warns against facebook, social media scammers

    The senator representing Rivers South East, Magnus Ngei Abe, has debunked a message on Facebook and other social media platforms using his name to solicit assistance from the public.

    Abe said he was neither offering employment, nor giving out contract, or training anyone through Facebook and other social media platforms.

    Handing down the warning on his Facebook account yesterday, said he did not send anyone or linked anyone to job-related opportunities.

    The senator urged the public to be wary of such fraudsters; adding that it was not the first time these criminals were doing this.

    Abe said: “Let me repeat. I am not offering employment, contract, training or appointments to anyone via Facebook, Messenger, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc. I am not sending any agent, contact, security clearance committee, etc. to vet, or link anyone to any opportunities via social media.

    “Let me again urge the public to be wary of scammers, and other unscrupulous elements posing as public figures on social media. We have reported many of these fraudsters to Facebook and successfully closed several fraudulent accounts.

    “However, they continue to open new ones and target unsuspecting members of the public. Do not meet anyone or send money to anyone based on internet contact alone. Be wise and be safe. I care about you all. Please be careful, and stay safe,” Abe advised.

  • Abe says he has no plan to dump APC

    •Claims to be preferred choice for Rivers governorship race

    Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers Southeast ) yesterday dismissed speculations that he had left the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He said   not only does he remain an APC member; he is also the preferred choice ahead of the 2019 governorship election in Rivers State.

    Abe, a governorship aspirant on APC platform, and his faction of the party lost out in the recently concluded nomination of candidates for next year’s elections.

    An online report yesterday said he had dumped the APC.

    However, his spokesman, Parry Benson, denied the report, and branded it a pedestrian move to derail the conversation about the preferred choice of the Senator as the governorship candidate of the APC in Rivers State.

    Benson said, “We know that such calculated misinformation in the public domain is coming from the usual quarters to confuse Senator Abe’s supporters, who have remained firm, resolute and insisted on justice, equity, and fair play in Rivers APC.”

    The spokesperson also urged the senator’s teeming supporters and other lovers of democracy to ignore the fake news

    Abe was quoted by Benson as saying: “I am the frontline choice of Rivers APC for 2019 election. That is why so much efforts, resources and energy have been expended on a futile mission to obliterate that reality.

    “The sponsored campaign of hate and calumny is part of the efforts and like every pack of lies; it will collapse in the fullness of time. The report that I, Senator Magnus Abe, have dumped the APC for the PDP is another of such endless and wicked campaigns against me. I remain a member of the APC. I remain committed to the party (APC) and to President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “I have been in politics long enough to know that a smear campaign is one of the tools you deploy when your case is weak. So, from the intensity of the smear campaign, discerning political watchers will know that no real case can be made against me.

    “Just as I have said severally, let me re-emphasise that I bought form for governor, on the platform of APC in Rivers State and I am running for the office of governor.”

    However, the APC has already forwarded the name of oil tycoon, Tonye Cole, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as its Rivers State governorship candidate.

     

     

  • Ribadu, Abe, Amosun, Aisha Buhari’s brother lose out at APC Appeals Panel

    Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman Nuhu Ribadu, Senator Magnus Abe and President Muhammadu Buhari’s wife’s brother are among the big losers as the All Progressives Congress (APC) Appeals Panel submitted its report yesterday.

    Also, Niger Delta Affairs Minister Usani Uguru Usani failed to upturn the outcome of the Cross River State governorship primary.

    Mrs Buhari’s brother Mahmoud Halilu (aka Modi) and President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Bala Bobboi Kaigama also lost the opportunity to have their candidates returned as party standard bearers.

    There was tension at the national headquarters of APC as aspirants for the Senate and House of Representatives sought information on who- is-who on the list being taken to the INEC.

    The party’s Director of Organisation, Alhaji Abubakar Kari, at about 2pm, led some officials in a branded APC bus to submit the list of candidates to INEC.

    The two petitions against the governorship primaries in Rivers by Senator Abe and Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs were not upheld. The petition from Delta State by Prof. Pat Utomi was dismissed and tagged “overtaken by event”.

    From Borno, there were four petitions against the conduct of the governorship primary. The committee recommended that a consensus option be explored to be driven by the National Chairman in consultation with the President.

    It was also gathered that majority of the petitions against the conduct of the Senate and House of Representatives primaries were not upheld for various reasons, ranging from lack of merit and lack of proof to lack of time for fresh primaries. No reasons were adduced for not upholding some others.

    Similarly, some petitions were upheld and some of the petitioners declared as candidates of the party either because they actually won the primaries and were substituted or for other reasons ranging from lack of clearance and others that were not adduced by the committee.

    A summary of the report indicated that all petitions on the Senate and House of Representatives primaries were rejected by the panel.

    Also rejected were those from Bayelsa, Rivers and Cross River states.

    In Delta State, eight petitions were upheld because the petitioners won the primaries, but their names substituted. Seven were rejected. The three petitions against the conduct of the governorship primary in Akwa Ibom State was rejected alongside eight House of Representatives seat. Five were upheld.

    From Kaduna State, six petitions were treated on the senatorial primaries. Five of them were rejected. The one by Shehu Sani was upheld.

    Two petitions each were received against the governorship primaries in Sokoto and Jigawa states. They were rejected. Three House of Representatives and three senatorial petitions were rejected from the two states.

    Petitions from Kebbi and Katsina states were also rejected. The two against the conduct of the governorship primary were referred to the National Working Committee.

    The petitions from Kano were either upheld or referred to the party’s national secretariat.

    From Taraba State, The Nation gathered that 10 petitions were received against the conduct of the governorship primary, four against the Senate primary and nine against the House of Representatives primaries, with all petitions rejected, a similar situation with Adamawa and Bauchi states, with only one senatorial and one House of Representatives seat in Bauchi upheld.

    The situation is not different from the southwest zone, with six petitions treated from Ekiti against the conduct of the National Assembly primaries and rejected. Three House of Representatives petitions from Osun were also rejected.

    From Ondo State, the panel upheld three petitions for Senate, referred one to the NWC, rejected two and upheld the five petitions for House of Representatives, saying that they won the primary and were substituted.

    Of the two petitions received from Lagos, one was rejected for the Senate. The one for the House of Representatives was upheld. The panel also rejected two Senatorial petitions from Ogun and recommended that the third petitioner be adopted as the candidate saying stakeholder of the party in the areas agreed to adopt him as a sole candidate.

     

  • Abe: I remain APC candidate in Rivers

    The lawmaker representing Rivers Southeast, Senator Magnus Abe, has said he is the authentic governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC).

    But a chieftain of APC in Rivers, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, faulted Abe and warned against compensating Abe’s rebellion with a senatorial ticket.

    Last Sunday, Abe was declared winner of the governorship direct primary election organised by his faction in the 319 wards of the 23 councils, which was coordinated by its Acting Chairman, Prince Peter Odike, a former deputy chairman of Rivers APC.

    The ruling APC’s NWC and the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC’s)-backed indirect governorship primary in Port Harcourt on Sunday, was won by the co-founder of Sahara Group, Tonye Cole.

    Abe’s spokesman Parry Benson said: “Senator Magnus Abe remains the governorship candidate of the APC in Rivers State, following the mandate freely given to him by members of the APC during last Sunday’s governorship primary election in the state.

    “The one thing presently occupying the mind of Distinguished Senator Abe is to actualise his ambition as governor of Rivers State, through a peaceful, acceptable and constitutional means in 2019, in order to deliver democratic dividends to Rivers people and transform the state into an enviable haven of industrialisation and attract real investments.”

    In his Twitter handle yesterday morning, Abe said: “I bought the form for governor, and I am running for the office of governor. Relax, ladies and gentlemen, keep faith and work hard. Our struggle has just begun and our day of glory shall surely come.”

    Eze, however, asked the national leadership and Rivers state chapter not to send a wrong signal to members by embarking on any act that could destroy the principles on which the party was set up, through giving Abe the senatorial ticket.

    He said: “Compensating Abe with APC’s senatorial ticket and denying the legitimate aspiration of a loyal party leader like Amb. Oji Ngofa will not only be suicidal, but sending the message that rebelling against the party’s authorities will ultimately be compensated with juicy rewards. It will also escalate the crisis within the party.

    “Abe earlier attempted to lure me into his project of tearing down the influence of the Minister for Transportation, but I rejected it, to avoid sabotaging Rivers APC. I advised him not to venture into such an ungodly act that might nail his political career, but he went ahead and today he has lost his political relevance in Rivers State.

    “The senator (Abe) is not only a personal friend, but a brother very dear to my heart and family. I have nothing against any aspiration that he intends to pursue, but I will not support any of his acts that will be detrimental to the collective aspiration of APC in Rivers State.”

    The APC chieftain urged politicians to always avoid acts that portray them as traitors, ingrates, inhuman and heartless.

     

  • Abe threatens boycott of APC primary over process

    Frontline Governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State Senator Magnus Abe, has threatened to boycott tomorrow’s primaries should the party fail to adopt direct primaries

    Abe issued the threat during at a  rally in Wiiyakara community, Khana Local Government Area.

    He urged the party’s national leadership to reverse itself and conduct direct primaries in Rivers state.

    Abe said: “It is bad that we continue to worship individuals when we want change. It is clear that they are doing what they are doing because somebody has been appointed a DG (Director-General).

    “If they are doing this to please one person, then the party will not move forward. If the primary in Rivers is not through direct primaries I will not take part and I will not accept the result.

    “When we were fighting former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Amaechi called me that I should lead the party in the state. I did but when I want to pursue my ambition he turned me down. I am the leader of APC in my senatorial district but I do not have a ward Chairman,” Abe lamented.

    Abe told the party’s primaries committee to remove his name from the list of aspirants if it was bent on indirect primaries.

    “Today, I stand here to assure you that nobody is bigger than all of us. It is the responsibility of the party to bring a better ground for all the aspirants

    “I hereby serve them a notice that they should remove my name from the list of the contestants. I will not participate in a process that has already been determined.

    “I will not be part of a coronation that the king will not be crowned. They have gone to the national that they will send me home. Every campaign of hate must stop, Rivers must move forward,” Abe said.