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Tag: SENATOR Magnus Abe

  • Tiemo commends Tinubu over Abe’s appointment as NUPRC chairman

    Tiemo commends Tinubu over Abe’s appointment as NUPRC chairman

    President General, Indigenous People of Niger Delta (IPND), Mr. Pumokumo Tiemo, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the appointing Senator Magnus Abe as Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

    Abe’s was nominated by Tinubu and his name  already forwarded to the Senate for confirmation.  

    Tiemo, in a statement on Thursday, said: “Indigenous People of Niger Delta (IPND) received this appointment as a win for Nigeria and for the Niger Delta region, which has borne a disproportionate burden in sustaining Nigeria’s economic prosperity through decades of upstream activity.

    “ We believe this appointment strengthens confidence in upstream governance because Senator Abe understands, from lived experience, the realities of Nigeria’s producing areas and the urgent need for stability, fairness, and practical engagement across host communities and operators 

    READ ALSO; Youths clash over Fubara’s impeachment proceedings

    He added: “ In this regard, we look forward to a smooth and timely confirmation process, so the Commission’s board can proceed with clarity of purpose in support of regulatory effectiveness, investor confidence, and improved stakeholder relations in the upstream sector.

    “We wish Distinguished Senator Magnus Ngie Abe wisdom, strength, and a successful tenure.

     “ Indigenous People of Niger Delta (IPND) is ready to give him unreserved support to ensure the success of his administration in ways that promote peace, accountability, and sustainable development in the Niger Delta and Nigeria at large”

  • Abe: my 2019 governorship ambition has ended

    Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers South East) has said his 2019 governorship ambition in Rivers State has ended.

    The declaration followed last week’s Supreme Court judgment on the governorship candidacy of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Abe, who noted that court pronouncement has killed factions in the party, called on members to unite to move the party forward.

    The senator, who spoke yesterday at a stakeholders meeting in Port Harcourt, noted that by the development, the APC’s dreams for elective political positions in 2019 has been laid to rest.

    He, however, restated his determination to rebuild the party, and called on members to join hands together to achieve the dream.

    Abe said: “With last week’s pronouncement on our candidacy matter, I have ended my ambition for 2019 here in Rivers. This time again, the court upheld the Rivers State High Court judgment of Justice Chiwendu Wogu, which authenticates the leadership of Peter Odike as the current APC state chairman.

    “We have come to fight for representation in government; every human being should be treated with respect. We have sacrificed so much; we may not be holding anything now but because of what we have done, politics will be better in our country.

    “We need to be realistic so that we can move forward. The dream that we have in the state is laid to rest, because of the pronouncement of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in our suit before it.

    “We know that the Supreme Court is infallible. Its pronouncement ended our agitation. But God knows the reason, He who knows what we do not know.”

    Senator Abe also advised the National leadership of APC to stop inciting problems that will keep dividing the party.

    “The party’s national leadership should stop doing things that will put the party and state in chaos. It should instead recognise the leadership of Odike at the state level.”

  • Abe: I knew Supreme Court would strike out my motion

    Nactional leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State Senator Magnus Abe is not surprised that the Supreme Court struck out his motion seeking to validate his faction’s primaries because the Court wrote him a letter before the election, explaining that it will hear the pre-election matter after the conclusion of 2019 elections.

    Abe, who spoke on a television programme, said the Supreme Court had premised its decision to hear the pre-election matter after the 2019 elections on a petition written by the Rotimi Amaechi faction, which challenged the integrity of the panel hearing the matter at the time.

    According to him, the Supreme Court letter which implied a judgment, said a new panel would be constituted after the elections had been concluded.

    Abe said he understood the implication of adjourning a pre-election matter till after the elections.

    Read also: Supreme Court refuses appeal by sacked Kwara APC exco

    The Supreme Court had repeatedly declared the primaries and congresses of Rivers State APC null and void on the Premise of the judgment of Justice Chinwendu Nwogu. It was on the premise of that judicial pronouncement that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) removed APC from the ballot for the general elections in Rivers State. The APC accepted its fate and declared an alliance with AAC during the elections.

    Abe said: “Because of the delay in hearing the matter, the Supreme Court actually wrote a letter to us, a week before the election, to say the matter could not be heard because the other faction had written a petition against the Judges.

    “Therefore, the Supreme Court had decided that the matter could only be heard after the elections, when a new panel had been constituted. As a lawyer, I read that to mean a judgment of the court as far as the issue was concerned. This was clearly a pre-election matter. The effectiveness of the pronouncement would have affected the party going into the election when the court wrote that letter; I saw it as a decision in itself.

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  • Rivers APC Primaries, INEC and Supreme Court uncertainty

    In this piece, Kenneth Atavti examines the discord in the Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) and the danger of relying on litigation, instead of seeking political solutions to intra-party conflicts.

    Although the 2019 general elections in Rivers State have come and gone, the controversy surrounding the disqualification of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from fielding any candidates at the elections shows no sign of abating.

    In an unprecedented decision, on 7 January 2019, Hon. Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt Division, delivered a judgment (in a suit instituted by Senator Magnus Abe) barring the APC in Rivers State from fielding any candidates at any level for the 2019 general elections and restraining INEC from accepting or presenting the names of any APC candidate for the elections.

    The court based this decision on the failure of the APC to conduct valid primaries “in accordance with due process”, particularly because the primaries were conducted during the pendency of a suit on the same issue and the existence of a ruling barring the APC from fielding candidates delivered by Hon. Justice C. Nwogu of the Rivers State High Court.

    The Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, subsequently granted an order of stay of execution against the judgment of the Federal High Court, with the Hon. Justice A. Gumel who delivered the lead judgment declaring that: “And by this ruling today, APC in Rivers State and their candidates are free to participate in the elections.

    They can go about their campaigns, go about everything that is lawful to ensure that they are on the ballot and that INEC should ensure that their names get back to the list.”

    Shortly thereafter, the Court of Appeal upturned the decision of the High Court of Rivers State and affirmed the right of the APC to field candidates at the elections. This ruling of the Court of Appeal was later set aside by the Supreme Court which invoked its original jurisdiction under Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act. This, in effect, meant that the judgment of the Federal High Court remained valid, binding and subsisting against the APC in Rivers State.

    In what may be described as delivering a final and mortal blow to the APC’s chances at the general elections in Rivers State, in February 2019 the Supreme Court dismissed a separate Appeal filed by the faction of the APC in Rivers State loyal to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as well three other Appeals filed by the APC, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree and Tonye Patrick Cole on the grounds that they were statute-barred, having been filed outside the time allowed under Section 285(9) and

    (12) of the Constitution (4th Alteration Act). On the basis of these decisions of the apex court, INEC excluded all candidates of the APC in Rivers State from the ballot.

    To many keen watchers of Rivers State politics, the decisions of the Supreme Court upholding the decisions of the Federal High Court and the High Court of Rivers State barring the APC from fielding candidates had finally and completely disposed of the controversy surrounding the subject.

    Indeed, many had taken the matter as conclusively settled, given the fact that the apex Court had finally pronounced on the matter. For these persons, the subsequent announcement of fresh dates for the hearing of four appeals filed by Senator Magnus Abe, Tonye Cole and the APC at the Supreme Court would have come as a rude shock indeed.

    These appeals ostensibly arose from various suits instituted by members of the heavily-factionalised Rivers State APC seeking an interpretation as to whether valid primaries held, and if so, which faction of the party is to be recognised as having the right to present candidates.

    The Supreme Court has now fixed April 8 and 11 2019 for the hearing of these appeals.

    Ordinarily, the pendency of these Appeals ought not to evoke any worry or controversy, given the prior repeated affirmation by the Supreme Court of the decision of the Federal High Court and the High Court of Rivers State which both held that the Rivers APC could not validly nominate candidates for the 2019 general elections. It ought to be predictable that the Supreme Court will stand firm on its own established precedents.

    It is to be noted that none of the appellants currently before the Court has formally invited the Supreme Court to reverse its position as expressed in its preceding decisions on the Rivers APC debacle. This is crucial because unless this procedure is invoked, upon which the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria will be obligated to empanel a full constitutional panel of seven Justices of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court will have not the jurisdiction to reverse an earlier decision [ADEGOKE MOTORS LTD V ADESANYA;

    Unreported Decision of the Supreme Court in SC 186/1988 delivered on 19th May 1989].

    Thus, the current panel slated to hear the Appeals fixed for April 8 and 11th 2019 cannot possibly wield any jurisdiction to reach a contrary position on the matter.

    Again, legal commentators have expressed concern over the hearing of these appeals after the conduct of elections and the announcement of a winner. The reasoning appears to be that because INEC has proceeded to conduct elections in Rivers State, any dispute or legal question that might affect the outcome of that process is no longer within the purview of the Supreme Court or any other conventional Court, but falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of the election petition tribunals.

    This appears particularly important when it is considered that a decision of the Supreme Court which has the effect of nullifying the elections already conducted may be tantamount to a situation where the apex court has usurped the functions and powers of election petition tribunals.

    Already, the law is clear that election petition tribunals can nullify elections on the ground of the improper exclusion of a validly nominated candidate.

    Still another hurdle for the Supreme Court to cross, should it be inclined to reverse its prior decisions, is the fact that about 91 political parties which participated in the elections in Rivers State at several levels have not been joined to the appeals currently pending before the Supreme Court.

    Thus, the question that seeks an answer is whether the apex Court can proceed to make a decision affecting the interests of these 91 political parties in their absence. The unanimous position of legal practitioners interviewed in the course of this article is that the law frowns at such a situation.

    According to one, “you cannot shave a man’s head in his absence.”

    Finally, from a study of the appellants’ processes, it is apparent that the various appeals seek orders as to whether primaries held or, if they did, what faction’s primaries is to be recognised.

    None of these appeals seek any order nullifying the elections in River State- precisely because the elections were not in contemplation.

    It is elementary law that a court cannot grant reliefs not sought of it. The question again arises: what will be the effect of a Supreme Court decision which effectively nullifies the election, even though it has not been prayed to do so and given the fact that it is the election petition tribunal that has the jurisdiction to do so?

    As all eyes now focus on the Supreme Court, it remains to be seen what course a Court still reeling from the effect of its greatest upheaval in decades would chart going forward, particularly in politically-charged cases.

    However, what seems to be clear is that the Rivers APC case may indeed prove to be the litmus test for assessing the direction and legacy of the Acting CJN and the entire court in the foreseeable future.

  • Abe: no individual can determine Rivers’ future

    No individual can determine the future of Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers South East), has said.

    Abe, who spoke on a radio programme in Port Harcourt, at the weekend, said the right to choose who governs the state and those who will lead must remain exclusively with the people.

    He noted that it is the responsibility of the leaders to ensure that the process is done peacefully and responsibly to give the people the right and power to chose who leads them.

    He said: “If Nigerians, if Rivers people want a better state and a better life, they must come out and fight for what they believe in, and that is what I think we ought to be doing.

    Read also: Rivers: INEC to resume collation of election results

    “The people came out and stood their ground during the election, and at the end of the day, everybody have to submit to what the citizens wanted.

    “I believe the future of Rivers is in the hands of Rivers people. They need to come together and decide on what is right and proper, and how we can make things better. It won’t happen by accident; people must come out and fight for it, and I am ready to be one of those people who will fight for a better Rivers State.”

  • Senator Abe laments lingering crisis in Rivers APC

    The Senator representing Rivers East in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe has said  has the possibility of addressing the lingering crisis in the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was bleak unless the national leadership of the party do the right thing and put an end to the reign of impunity in the state.

    Senator Abe said the crisis is persisting because some leaders of the party in the state were averse to dissenting views, adding that the foundation of the crisis in the party is intolerance of dissenting views, impunity, high-handedness and lack of respect for others.

    Read Also:Cross River APC chieftains call for Oshiomhole’s resignation

    Similarly, members of the APC in the state stormed the party national secretariat to protest against what they described as impunity within the party in Rivers state and appealed to the leadership to immediately do the needful and avoid a Zamfara like treatment from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In a statement Friday issued on his behalf by Kennedy Friday of the Kairos Media Group, the senator dismissed allegations that he was being sponsored by the state Governor, Nyesom Wike to destabilize the APC in Rivers state.

    He said “The crisis in Rivers APC began long before Sen. Abe’s thanksgiving to which Gov. Wike along with other Governors, senators and ministers attended. The foundation of the crisis in the party is intolerance of dissenting views, impunity, high-handedness and lack of respect for others. Disregard for all rules and laws including the constitution of the party and even orders of courts of competent jurisdiction. Until this is addressed the crisis will continue and singing Wike as a song will not change anything”.

    Reacting to an earlier statement accusing him of working for the Rivers Governor, Senator Abe said “Our attention has been drawn to a statement issued by Mr. Chris Finebone whose election as Publicity Secretary of Rivers APC has been nullified by the judgement of a court of competent jurisdiction spewing fire and brimstone against a judicial officer and the court of law. The statement also attempted to retool a tired and monotonous blackmail of an imagined collaboration between Sen. Magnus Abe and Gov. Nyesom Wike.

    “This same tendency and inclination to become a law unto themselves, thrive in impunity, intimidate everyone with contrary opinion, disobey lawful orders and trample on the will of the people is the very root of the challenges confronting Rivers APC today. Instead of allowing for a moment of introspection, Chris Finebone and his sponsors are scavenging everywhere looking for people to blame for the problems they themselves created.

    “It’s a known fact today that many state chapters of APC across the nation are mired in crisis, with many cases in court arising from same attitude demonstrated by the leader of Rivers APC to subdue the voices of the people. Are all those cases also instituted in collaboration with Gov. Nyesom Wike?

    “Was it Gov. Nyesom Wike who collaborated with the Minister of Transportation to exclude thousands of Rivers APC faithful who paid money to the party to participate in the congresses?

    “Was it Governor Wike who instructed the Minister to order security agents to open fire on innocent APC members who were protesting their exclusion from participating in the congresses? Or did the Minister collaborate with Wike by hijacking materials for APC congresses to INTELS camp in Port Harcourt away from the reach of party faithful?”

    However, protesting at the APC secretariat, members of the party from the state led by Amb. Anosike Odowa, Hon. Bethel Oko Jaja and Hon. Onyeche Uloma said if something was not done fast about the Rivers State APC, it May suffer the same pronouncement INEC gave to Zamfara State.

    The Rivers State APC asked the party leadership and President Muhammad Buhari to rescue the party from the hands of the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Ameachi, while demanding that the court ruling on Rivers State APC should be obeyed by the party, just as they also demanded for Direct primaries in the State.

    Hon. Anosike Odowa who spoke on their behalf said, “We are members of APC from Rivers State. We are here this morning to register our grievances, to speak to the National Chairman of the party and the NEC of our party that one man called Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation has gone ahead to disobey Court judgement. He has gone to bring his business partner to be the candidate of our party and we are saying that Tonye Cole, we don’t know him.

    “We are members of this party, we struggled for this party and we believe that APC, while we left PDP to APC is because of impunity and injustice. Now, the National Chairman of our party, should do the right thing by accepting the result of direct primaries which Distinguished Senator Magnus Abe emerged as the winner.

    “The Court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Port Harcourt has ruled and voided every activities of the purported primaries conducted by Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi. Indirect primaries conducted by Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi has been voided and in law it cannot stand.

    “If APC wants to win Rivers state then Magnus Abe is the Governor of Rivers state. We will stop at nothing; we will fight with our last strength to ensure that justice must prevail.

    “We are stakeholders in this party and I will advice the National Chairman to be upright and Amaechi should stop pushing him, this party is not Amaechi Peoples Party, it is All Progressives Congress not Amaechi Personal property. We want to ask that the National Chairman should live up to expectation and do the right thing.

    “We know him to be a man who is upright but he should not allow his integrity to be questioned in this matter. Rivers state is for direct primaries and Magnus Abe emerged winner of the direct primaries.”

    On the allegation of Abe working for the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, Bethel Oko Jaja said, “We want to say without fear and contradiction that senator Magnus Abe is a true APC member, he has never betrayed the confidence reposed in him. When Mangus went to receive the bullet, everybody was saying that ‘this is a true APC member’, did he tell them to disallow them from contesting the primaries that they were supposed to contest.

    “When we wanted to do our ward, local government and state primaries, did he say they should not contest? When they deprived people and they went to a court of competent jurisdiction to address the issue they said he is working with Wike, today they are accusing him.

    “He remains the only committed APC member that has worked for this party. You recall that in 2015, when PDP won election in Rivers state and it was nullified and in December 2016 to be precise that election was conducted. The only man who won his senatorial district is Magnus Abe.

    “He gave APC a face in Rivers state; APC would have been lost and forgotten today in Rivers state. Magnus Abe stood and won the election. Today they are accusing him of fighting for his right, he is fighting for the good right of Rivers people, he is fighting to liberate the people impunity perpetuated by one man.

    “We are sending a strong message across to the national chairman of All Progressives Congress, our own brother, Adams Oshiomhole, to leave up to expectation, the leader of this party and commander-in-chief of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari to please intervene in this matter.

    “We are committed members of APC in Rivers state. Impunity must not prevail; one man should not hold the party to ransom. We will stand against it. We believe in direct primary and on the one that was conducted on 30th September Abe emerged the winner and remains candidate of the APC come 2019 governorship election in Rivers state. “

  • Rivers: Three friends in fierce battle

    In Rivers State, a fierce political battle among three friends will help to shape the battle for the ticket of APC’s governorship ticket, reports Southsouth Bureau Chief, Bisi Olaniyi

    Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, is a former boss of current Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and the lawmaker representing Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe. But today, the three are at loggerheads ahead of the September 29 primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Amaechi, an Ikwerre from Ubima in Ikwerre Local Government Area, was Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly between 1999 and 2007. Abe was the House of Assembly’s Minority Leader from 1999 to 2003, prior to his appointment by the then Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, as Rivers Commissioner for Information. While in the Assembly, Abe was a member of the All Peoples Party (APP), which later became the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

    Wike, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also an Ikwerre from Rumueprikom-Port Harcourt in Obio/Akpor LGA, was a two-term Chairman of Obio/Akpor LG council of Rivers State and he had his re-election as the council’s helmsman made possible by Amaechi as Speaker, when most Ikwerre people in his LGA kicked against his candidature, because of alleged poor performance and lack of respect for elders.

    Amaechi became Rivers governor on October 26, 2007, following the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court the previous day, which sacked Sir Celestine Omehia, from the same Ubima hometown.

    Shortly after his inauguration as governor, Amaechi appointed Wike as Chief of Staff, Government House, Port-Harcourt, while Abe, a lawyer, emerged as Secretary to Rivers State Government (SSG).

    In order to ensure hitch-free re-election in 2011, Amaechi appointed Wike, aka High Tension, as the Director-General of his campaign organisation and subsequently recommended him to the then President Goodluck Jonathan for a ministerial appointment, while Abe was elected into the Senate.

    Right from 2011, especially shortly after Wike’s ministerial appointment, he started nursing the ambition to be Rivers State governor on the platform of the PDP in 2015, which he got through federal might, while Abe was a governorship aspirant on the platform of the APC in Rivers in 2015. However, a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, got the ticket, with Abe returning to the Senate.

    The senator (Abe) started his 2019 governorship activities very early, but disclosed that Transportation Minister visited him in his Abuja house, warning him in the presence of his wife, not to vie for governorship next year, which Abe said he was not comfortable with.

    Amaechi wants the governorship candidate of APC next year in the multi-ethnic Rivers to be a riverine person to ensure even development, equity, justice and fairness, in view of the fact that the state’s governors since 1999: Dr. Peter Odili, Omehia, Amaechi and Wike are from the upland part of Rivers.

    On August 30 in Lagos, stakeholders of APC in Rivers endorsed a co-founder of Sahara Group, Pastor Tonye Cole, as the governorship aspirant of the party in the state, but Abe stated that he was not aware that Cole was a member of APC, insisting that he would vie for Rivers governorship on the party’s (APC’s) platform.

    Ironically, Amaechi’s impact in the political life of Abe cannot be denied, which made the Senator (Abe) to proudly and openly state recently that the Transportation Minister had invested so much in his political career, making him to become the highest political investment of Amaechi in Nigeria.

    Abe, however, inaugurated a parallel secretariat of APC at Waterlines Bus Stop on Aba Road in Port Harcourt, with the former Deputy Chairman of the party, Prince Peter Odike, emerging as the Acting Chairman.

    The three friends (Amaechi, Wike and Abe) have now turned to foes, because of the politics of 2019 elections.

    Amaechi, on Sunday, September 16 this year, at Rumueme Civic Centre, Port-Harcourt in Wike’s Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State, at the LGA’s mega rally of the APC to receive over 5000 defectors from the PDP, declared that his successor (Wike) was panicking and had stopped shouting, but he must go in 2019, in spite of his sponsoring unnamed members of APC to cause confusion.

    At the well-attended rally were Senator Andrew Uchendu (Rivers East), the endorsed governorship candidate of APC in Rivers, Tonye Cole; the state Chairman of APC, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree; and leader of the party in Obio/Akpor LGA, Chikodi Dike, among other top politicians.

    Amaechi, who is also the current Director-General of Buhari/Osinbajo Re-election Campaign Organisation, said: “Nothing is greater than God. I closed my mouth for nearly three years, to enable Wike to do his work. Instead of doing his work, he was busy going everywhere, talking and stealing our money. Wike stole N117 billion belonging to Rivers State, as revealed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    “Wike is sponsoring people in our party (APC) to disintegrate the party. Now, I have come out. The way to go about it is to let the party at the national and to let the country know that we are ready for elections. All these people distracting us inside the party, under the sponsorship of Wike, we will ignore them, because Wike must go in 2019.

    “This is not a campaign rally, but it is a rally to show the world that we are in Wike’s village. Just five minutes trek. I walked from there to this place. When I was running for governor, if you entered Ubima (his hometown in Ikwerre LGA) and you come out alive, then you are a good man. We have entered here (Rumueme Civic Centre), we will enter again and again.

    “I am very impressed with the quality of people who are defecting to APC. Wike has stopped shouting. I told you he would stop shouting. I told you we would go underground, we would work and seeing our work, Wike would panic. Now, Wike is panicking and I am enjoying it. Do not be afraid anymore. Wike does not have the monopoly of killing.”

    “I want to know the membership of APC in Rivers State. Get registered in APC and also get your Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). I will come, ward by ward, to meet you. If our membership base is 796,000 as at now, we have won the elections.”

    The former Rivers governor (Amaechi) also called for the setting up of prayer groups in APC across the 23 LGAs of the state, assuring that members of the party would pray and vote, to end Wike’s bad governance next year.

    Cole, while also speaking at the rally, assured that APC would win in all the wards of Rivers State during the 2019 elections, while declaring that Rivers belongs to APC.

    Leader of APC in Obio/Akpor LGA (Dike) stressed that with PVCs of members of the party and other Rivers residents, Wike would be voted out in 2019, ‘to end impunity in Rivers’.

    While speaking on behalf of the defectors, Solomon Ademola, who was Obio/Akpor LGA’s Coordinator of Wike’s Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), described PDP as dead in Rivers State, with the defections from PDP to APC across the 23 LGAs of the state.

    Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Chief Emma Okah, while reacting on behalf of Wike, however said that his boss has no basis to panic, as alleged by Amaechi, who he described as “a dictator, with oppressive style.”

    Okah said: “Amaechi is the person sponsoring opposition against Governor Wike and the Rivers State government. Amaechi should look inwards and solve his problems, rather than blaming the focused and performing governor of Rivers State.

    “Governor Wike is solidly on the ground in Rivers State. His administration has enough development projects across the 23 LGAs of the state to justify his re-election next year. Amaechi should tell Rivers people the development projects he has attracted to Rivers State, as the Minister for Transportation.”

    Rivers Information Commissioner also admonished discerning minds to ignore Amaechi and APC’s propaganda and to continue to support Wike’s administration.

    Abe, on September 17, at an interactive forum with members of 26 notable organisations within the old Port Harcourt Township, popularly called Town, which took place at an event centre on Aggrey Road in the Rivers State capital, stated that Wike was not sponsoring him.

    The interactive forum, with theme: “The possibilities of restoring the economic prospects of Rivers State, a case study of the old Port Harcourt Township,” was also attended by the Director-General of Freedom House, Abe’s campaign organisation, Worgu Boms, a lawyer; and the representative of Ikwerre/Emohua Constituency in the House of Representatives, Elder Chidi Wihioka; among other APC chieftains.

    Representative of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District declared that the Minister for Transportation, who is also the leader of APC in Rivers State and Southsouth zone, would not be able to stop him from participating in the party’s primary election and emerging as the standard bearer of APC, in spite of August 30 endorsement of Pastor Tonye Cole by Rivers stakeholders of the party in Lagos.

    Abe, a lawyer, early this year, had electoral victory thanksgiving reception at Polo Club, new Government Reservation Area (GRA), Port-Harcourt that was attended by Wike and other top officials of Rivers State Government.

    A chieftain of APC in Rivers (name withheld) later alleged that Wike supported Abe with N30million, thereby ensuring the success of the thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Garrison Bus Stop, Aba Road, Port Harcourt. But that alleged financial assistance has been denied.

    The governorship aspirant (Abe) said on September 17: “I have the capacity, I have the knowledge, having been to every part of Rivers State, and I have the understanding of the challenges of our state. If you give me the opportunity to lead this state, I can lead the state in a different direction. I can do things differently. I can bring our people together, in a way that we have not been together in a long time and be able to get the best out of every Rivers man and woman.

    “In this political season, I have decided that I will offer myself as a governorship aspirant of my party, the APC, to be given an opportunity to challenge Rivers people that we can do things better and differently.

    “Rivers State needs unity. The politics of hatred, bitterness and acrimony that has characterised our state in recent past cannot move us anywhere. It will destroy the state. We need to bring people together. We need to learn how to tolerate one another and accommodate divergent views, thereby bringing out the best in us.

    “When I was Commissioner for Information to Dr. Peter Odili, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (the then Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly) was aspiring to be governor of Rivers State, and it caused a big problem in the politics of that time, between him (Amaechi) and Dr. Odili, but I stood with Amaechi. At a point, I was practically the only person in Odili’s government that Amaechi was still talking to. I chose to stand by my friend (Amaechi). Whoever God has said will be governor of Rivers State will be governor of Rivers State and there is nothing Amaechi can do about it.

    “I am not being sponsored by Governor Nyesom Wike. I decided to fight for my right, not only as a citizen of Rivers State, but as a member of the APC. Amaechi also fought for his right up to the Supreme Court to be governor in 2007 and we stood by him. The then Governor Odili never accused Amaechi that he was a betrayer or being sponsored by anybody.

    “I am fighting for my right. I want to be governor of Rivers State. I will fight in any way that is constitutionally allowed, both by the party (APC) and our Constitution. Whatever God says at the end, I will accept in good faith. Nobody can deny me the right to fight for my right.”

    The senator also stated that he would continue to refer to Amaechi as the leader of APC in Rivers, especially as the only member of the party that is a former governor and a member of the caucus of the party.

    Abe stressed that referring to Amaechi as APC leader in Rivers was also to send a signal to all members of the party that no matter how aggrieved they might be, they should be ready to work with him (Amaechi), anytime he decided that it was appropriate to allow justice to prevail in the party, adding that he had never abused the Transportation Minister publicly and he would never allow any APC member to do so, but to continue to respect his former boss.

    Wike-led Rivers State Government has however asked Amaechi to account for the  $308 million (about N112 billion) proceeds of the sale towards the end of his administration of the state’s gas turbine power stations to Sahara Energy, belonging to Pastor Tonye Cole, the endorsed governorship aspirant of the APC in the state.

    Rivers Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, alleged that the sale of the power stations and diversion of the proceeds to fund political activities of APC was responsible for why Amaechi’s government abandoned so many uncompleted projects and owed salaries and pensions to workers before he left office in 2015.

    Okah claimed that besides the power assets which Amaechi sold to Sahara Energy, the same company also bought the Olympia Hotel in the old Government Reservation Area (GRA), Port Harcourt and other high-value state assets, under suspicious circumstances.

    He said: “The Justice Omereji Commission of Inquiry investigated the spurious sales and indicted the Minister for Transportation. Instead of refunding the money, the minister rushed to court to set aside the findings of the commission. He lost at the High Court and at the Court of Appeal. His appeal to the Supreme Court has been abandoned, because for over a year, he has failed to file a brief of argument,” he said.

    Responding, the Publicity Secretary of APC in Rivers, Chief Chris Finebone, declared that the state’s Information Commissioner’s allegation was a classical display of the fright that had gripped Wike and his government since the possibility of Cole, an Architect, flying the governorship flag of APC in Rivers State, became public knowledge.

    Finebone said: “It will be an unthinkable and unimaginable mismatch to have Architect Tonye Cole and Nyesom Wike debate the economy, politics and development, among others, on the same platform. What will Wike say? Nothing!

    “Wike is a drowning man who is being abandoned by reasonable people. His case will be made worse if he has to square up with Tonye Cole in 2019. We truly understand his dilemma.

    “Tonye Cole is one of the governorship aspirants of the APC in Rivers State. Should he get the party’s ticket, Wike is finished; hence the frenzied fear that has enveloped Rivers governor and his men.

    “On the matter of Cole’s businesses that cover energy, power and oil and gas within and outside Nigeria, it is absurd to talk about his company buying a single facility in Rivers State. Let those talking about it be informed that Cole’s organisation bought  a wide range of power plants from the Nigerian Federal Government, such as Egbin Power Plant, Afam Power Stations and others. The power plant sold by the Rivers State government to his company pales into insignificance, even if his company had to pay twice the amount the company bought that of the Federal Government during the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, because of the competitive negotiation of the state government under Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.

    “Wike and his Commissioner for Information will be sorry for themselves, if they had an idea that Tonye Cole’s company paid higher for the Rivers State-owned power plant, almost twice what it paid for all the Federal Government power plants the company bought. The facts are there.”

    Rivers Publicity Secretary of APC also asked the state’s governor to quickly recover from his fright and be ready to face the so-intelligent, well-travelled, highly-experienced and very brilliant Cole or anybody APC fields in 2019 and stop behaving like a village coward at the wrestling arena.”

    APC guber ticket

    To slug it out for APC’s governorship ticket in Rivers State are Cole, an indigene of Abonnema, the headquarters of Akuku-Toru LGA: Abe, who hails from Bera-Ogoni in Gokana council; and a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Dawari George, an indigene of Buguma, the headquarters of Asari-Toru LGA.

    Other APC governorship aspirants in Rivers are an oil magnate, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, also from Abonnema; and a renowned environmental and human rights activist, AkpoBari Celestine, an Ogoni man.

    Abe and Celestine are from the upland part of Rivers State, while the other governorship aspirants are from the riverine part.

    Keen observers say APC leaders must put their house in order, in order to present an acceptable and popular candidate that will be able to dislodge Wike in 2019, considering the fact that APC leadership wants the governorship running mate to be from Ogoni and Speaker of the House of Assembly to be an Ikwerre person from Wike’s Obio/Akpor LGA or Port Harcourt City LGA with the highest voting strength.

  • How Amaechi warned me not to dare to vie for Rivers governorship in 2019 — Senator Magnus Abe

    How Amaechi warned me not to dare to vie for Rivers governorship in 2019 — Senator Magnus Abe

    The Senator representing Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Magnus Ngei Abe, an indigene of Bera-Ogoni in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State, was Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG) between 2007 and 2011 when the Transportation Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, was Rivers State Governor. In this interview with our Bureau Chief in Port Harcourt, BISI OLANIYI, the lawyer, who was a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State in 2015, says he is not an over-ambitious politician and he describes Rivers Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as a very smart politician, among other issues. Excerpts:

    How will you describe the crisis rocking the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC)?

    The sum total of the interview by Senator Andrew Uchendu (of Rivers East Senatorial District, also of APC) was to paint me as a politician with inordinate ambition, determined to pursue his personal quest for office at all costs; that I have no credibility, broke my his words; that I refused to help build the APC in Rivers State; that I did not support Rotimi Amaechi in 2007, but rather appeared when victory was achieved to claim the position of SSG; that I am an ingrate who has been given more than I deserve; that the South-South zonal visit of the APC confirmed that there was no crisis in the party in Rivers State.

    My initial reaction was disbelief. I could not believe that Chief Uchendu was responsible for the concoctions. I waited for the fiery disclaimer that I was certain would follow, but the deafening silence that followed led to the sad conclusion that the words and comments in the interview represented the views of my colleague (Senator Uchendu).

    Throughout this period, I have been very guarded in my public comments, believing that in a disagreement of this nature between close friends, it is better to leave certain things unsaid, no matter the provocation. I have never believed or hoped that the disagreement between us would be permanent. Therefore, while we could say a lot of unprintable things about one another in private, maturity and common sense demand that we avoid taking our dirty linen to the market place. We all have enough of such linen and at the end of the day, we would all return to the same market place where we have washed them. There will be no winner.

    Whatever our differences are today, I had enjoyed a very robust and mutually-beneficial relationship with Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and I honestly do not see what our disagreement is about, to make it so spiteful and hate-filled. It was for that reason that I held my peace and allowed the public narrative that the Hon. Minister of Transportation asked myself and Dr. Dakuku Peterside (Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, who was the governorship candidate of the APC in Rivers State during the 2015 election) to stop running for governor and first build the party to stand, even though we all know that, that story is not only false, but it is one that paints me in very poor light as an over ambitious politician, which I am not.

    Are you sure you are not an over ambitious politician?

    One sure way of predicting what a man will do in the future is to look back at what he did in the past. In 2003, when we were all in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), my friend, Senator Lee Meaba (an Ogoni) was given the Rivers South East senatorial  district’s ticket by the party in rather controversial circumstances. I not only accepted the result but I followed Senator Lee Meaba to all the seven LGAs in the senatorial district (Khana, Gokana, Tai, Eleme, Andoni, Opobo/Nkoro and Oyigbo) to campaign for him. In 2015, when I was not given the APC’s governorship ticket, I equally followed my brother, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, and I campaigned. So, my actions in the past do not qualify me for the toga with which I am now being clothed.

    The truth of the matter is that the Hon. Minister of Transportation, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, drove to my residence in Abuja on December 29, 2016, a few weeks after the rerun elections, for what I initially thought was a normal visit. My entire family received him with much joy. After some chitchats, he asked to speak with me in the presence of my wife. We both sat down, he then disclosed that the real reason he came was that he had heard from two very important Nigerians that I am interested in running for governor of Rivers State in 2019, and he came to warn me not dare it. He said: “Do not try it. I am warning you in front of your wife, so that tomorrow, you will not say that I did not warn you. I am a fighter and I will fight you with everything. I will report you to the President. In any case, I set up the party’s (APC’s) structure. I set it up for Dakuku Peterside and so, you cannot win any primary election within the APC in Rivers State.” He went further to disclose that even Peterside is going nowhere this time, because “I am going to take the structure back from him and I will bring Tonye Cole as the candidate.”

    What was your reaction when Transportation Minister said you should not dare to vie as Rivers governor in 2019?

    I told him that no one had started running yet because it was not yet time, but I pleaded with my friend (Amaechi) to give everyone, including me and Dr. Peterside, a chance and he said no. He further stated that Dr. Peterside was out and he could not consider me because I did not support Dr. Peterside in 2015. I was shocked to hear that, because it was clear to me that this was a new narrative that was being constructed to justify his present position and I told the transportation minister there and then that those who are saying I did not support the party in 2015 will answer to God. I also told him that I had not taken a decision on the matter, but anywhere I go and anyone says I will be governor of Rivers State, I will respond with a loud ‘Amen!’

    Two things struck me from that visit. If the party structure was set up for Dr. Peterside, it means the decision to make Dr. Peterside the candidate was taken before the party structure was set up. So, what was the entire drama of 2015 about? Secondly, If you know that I cannot win the primaries, why not just keep quiet and allow me to fail honorably, if I decide to contest? Why come to my house to humiliate me before my family when I have not even taken a decision to contest?

    He (Amaechi) was offended by my answer because he called another meeting, this time with my elder brother, Dr. Abe, who has always been like a father to both of us, in attendance along with my wife and stated the same position.

    I still insisted that I would say ‘Amen’ anywhere anyone says I will be governor. So, Senator Uchendu knew about those meetings and he knew about Amaechi’s position. The meetings at The Dome (in Port Harcourt) was just a window dressing but I played along and I refused to talk about the private meetings for obvious reasons.

    Senator Uchendu knew that the public spin about “wait, let us build the party first” is a false narrative set up to justify the campaign to stop Senator Abe by all means. I was not told to wait and build the party. Everyone knew that we were already building the party. I was told not to contest for Rivers governorship in 2019 long before the meeting at The Dome to which Senator Uchendu referred, was convened.

    It is now clear that the decision to stop me was taken long ago. That is exactly what Governor Nyesom Wike warned me about when he came to my house prior to his decision to leave the group. What is happening in Rivers APC has nothing to do with building the party. It is all about stopping Senator Abe.

    Senator Uchendu accused you of not supporting Amaechi’s struggle in 2007 during the K-leg era in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, before the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment of October 25, 2007, which sacked Sir Celestine Omehia, with Amaechi inaugurated as governor on October 26, 2007?

    I first heard the story from a mutual friend of myself and the minister of transportation, as part of the reasons why the transportation minister is fighting so hard to stop me. So, it is not original to Senator Uchendu. In Uchendu’s own account, rather than giving instances of what I did against Amaechi, he gave two instances of events in support of Amaechi, which he claimed I participated in. To me, that is another issue that should be left in the hands of God. That is now a moot point. Most of those who were with Amaechi this month, celebrating his 2007 victory, were not there in 2007.

    The day Amaechi left for Ghana, he formally called myself and the present governor, Nyesom Wike, and he told us he was leaving us in charge. The meeting Chief Uchendu referred to, I did not just attend, I led the delegation. Wike was not the only lawyer in our team and nobody asked Wike to go and liaise with lawyers. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, was hired by Sir (Dr.) Peter Odili (Rivers governor between 1999 and 2007). Wike took on that role, based on his conviction and commitment to the struggle. Nobody stopped Uchendu from doing the same thing. Dr. Sampson Parker, who is a medical doctor, was equally doing it. We should give people their due and not try to rewrite history every time we have a disagreement. Senator Uchendu attended meetings with Wike and myself in my house. He (Uchendu) attended meetings with Wike and myself in Dappa Addo’s house. We all went to Ghana together to see Amaechi, but today he (Uchendu) claims he did not see me until I became SSG.

    There is always this attempt to play down on Wike’s contributions to our success in the court. Wike was pivotal to what happened in the court, just as I was to how we got the nomination. When Amaechi was in Ghana, he (Amaechi) was speaking with me more than five times everyday. At a stage, I was the only person in Odili’s government he was speaking with. When Amaechi came back from Ghana, immediately after he was sworn in as governor, he appointed Wike Chief of Staff and appointed me SSG. So, if Senator Uchendu felt that the then governor (Amaechi) in his wisdom, chose to appoint people who did not support his struggles to such strategic positions in his government, then too bad.

    Senator Uchendu said you nominated Mr. Derek Mene, an Ogoni, who is not a qualified accountant, to be the Executive Director, Finance and Administration (EDFA) of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Is it true?

    This is the same Senator Uchendu, a national honours holder, who said there was no division in the APC in Rivers State, mischievously tearing his party man apart in the media. Mr. Mene was appointed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, screened and confirmed by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. His certificates were inspected by all these institutions and he was found worthy and qualified. By stating on the pages of national newspapers that Mene is not a qualified accountant, what exactly is Senator Uchendu telling Nigerians about the judgments of the President who made this appointment and the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, of which he is part, that confirmed the appointment of the President?

    Today, Mr. Mene is daily threatened and vilified by APC members like Senator Uchendu. Why? I will tell you.

    The minister of transportation called Mr. Mene thrice and asked him to join and lead the campaign against Senator Abe in Ogoniland and Mr. Mene pleaded that such a campaign would be counter-productive and would destroy the party in the area. Mr. Mene was threatened with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) with dismissal and now with suspension for refusing to join in an unjust battle against a brother and fellow party man. Mr. Mene has been ordered to either keep out of Rivers politics or face his waterloo, while every other appointee from Rivers State is neck deep in Rivers politics. Why is the case of Mr. Mene different?

    If Mr. Mene had joined in destroying Senator Abe, his certificates would be perfect. It is this kind of hypocrisy that makes Senator Uchendu’s brand of politics distasteful and childish. If I offer any apologies to an elder like Senator Uchendu, it is a reflection of my upbringing, it cannot be quoted as an endorsement of bad behaviour.

    Again, on the appointment of the EDFA, the transportation minister had promised me after the general elections that in setting up the Federal Government, my interest would be placed above every other interest within the APC family in Rivers State, including his own. This promise was not conditional on my having no future ambition. It was a promise made to me based on an honest assessment of my contributions and support to the party in Rivers State. We must look to our conscience and live up our words.

    On this whole issue of betrayal, after the decision of the then Governor Amaechi, which gave Dr. Peterside the governorship ticket of APC in Rivers State in 2014, the Rt. Hon. Amaechi met with Ogoni leaders, including King G.N.K. Gininwa, the President of MOSOP, the President of KAGOTE (Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme), political and religious leaders of Ogoni and told them that it was the turn of Ogoni, but that the reason the Ogoni people did not get the ticket was because they did not start the agitation on time. He (Amaechi) promised the Ogoni people that as they would be leaving the Government House, Port Harcourt, they should start their agitations and make noise to the highest heavens and that the next opportunity that would come for the governorship of Rivers State, he (Amaechi) would lead the Ogoni demand, because it is the right thing to do. So, what really is the issue today? Luckily, all those who attended the meeting are still alive.

    Did the transportation minister sponsor your case at the tribunal?

    Let me publicly thank Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for paying the legal fees of our lead solicitors, Lateef Fagbemi & Co. Nothing in our present situation should imply that I am ungrateful, but Senator Uchendu should have realised that Lateef Fagbemi & Co., though the lead solicitors, were not the only solicitors representing the APC family in the tribunal and the Appeal Court cases. Myself, Hon. Chidi Wihioka, Hon. Barinadaa Mpigi and Hon. Maurice Pronen hired and are still paying the other solicitors that represented members of the APC family and we also made a lot of other expenses in the cause of that litigation, which benefited all APC litigants, including Senator Uchendu and others who were and remain at the forefront of the campaign to stop Senator Abe.

    What of the allegation of your fraternising with Governor Nyesom Wike of PDP, who recently gave Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) to all the members of the National Assembly from Rivers State?

    I laughed when I read that part of the interview. Senator Uchendu’s relationship with me changed dramatically when the transportation minister’s preference became obvious. For the records, when the face-off between Wike and the minister of transportation began, I refused, I pleaded with the transportation minister, who was then the governor of Rivers State, not to fight Wike, while we found a solution. The impasse continued until Wike met with me at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and told me not to bother, that he would never have anything to do with Amaechi anymore. I went back to Amaechi and I told him that it was over. Even when they were fighting, I continued to refer to Wike in public, as my brother. My problem with Wike was when he came into my senatorial district to viciously contest for my seat. The elections are over. Wike is the governor, I am the senator. If I see him, I must acknowledge him. There is no romance between me and Wike. Senator Uchendu can write to request a courtesy visit with the Rivers governor and meet with him, if Wike agrees to do so and that will not be romance, but if Senator Abe exchanged pleasantries with the same man (Wike) at a public event or joined a senate committee, of which I am a member, to pay a courtesy call on the Rivers governor, then that is romance. What do you call such duplicity?

    Wike is a very smart politician and he can clearly see the division and the crisis in the APC, which Senator Uchendu cannot see. So, he (Wike) will do what he can to take advantage of it, in the hope that people like Senator Uchendu will not see it until it is too late.

    Let me use this opportunity to reassure Rivers people that I understand the game and I understand my friends, whether they are in APC, PDP or even APGA (All Progressives Grand Alliance). There is no enmity, but there will be no compromise on the future of Rivers State. You can take that to the bank.

  • My tribunal victory is for all Rivers people, says Abe

    My tribunal victory is for all Rivers people, says Abe

    The representative of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, has described his Monday evening’s favourable judgment at the election petitions tribunal in Abuja as victory for all Rivers people.

    He also lauded the judiciary on the landmark judgement, in a petition filed by Olaka Worgu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    Abe, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), while reacting to the judgement of the tribunal, presided over by Justice Goody Anunihu, he lauded the people of Rivers Southeast senatorial district for the massive support.

    The senator, in an online statement Tuesday by his Spokesperson, Parry Benson, urged Worgu and his supporters to join hands with him to move the senatorial district and Rivers state forward.

    Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), stated that what should be of paramount concern to every person from the senatorial district was the dividends of democracy, while assuring them that very soon they would benefit immensely for voting for him.

    He gave an assurance that he would not discriminate against anyone, stressing that it did not matter whether anybody from the senatorial district did not vote for him.

    The senator enjoined the people of the district, no matter the political party they belong, to support him, in order to enable him to get all the benefits due them.

    He said: “I want to congratulate the judiciary and all Rivers people. This is a victory for all of us and all those who believe  in democracy and due process.

    “At this point, l will like to plead with everybody that it is time to let go of this quagmire and give the people of our senatorial district the opportunity to benefit from the dividends of democracy.

    “I thank all those who voted for me and all those who did not vote for me. I thank God Almighty who has made all things possible.”

    Abe assured that he would put in his best in the service of the people of his senatorial district, Rivers state and Nigeria.

     

  • PDP condemns alleged visits of Senator Abe to INEC

    PDP condemns alleged visits of Senator Abe to INEC

    The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has expressed discomfort over the alleged frequent visits to the Abuja head office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), by Senator Magnus Abe, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the forthcoming rerun National Assembly election in the State.

    Abe, a former Senator and APC candidate for Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the July 30, rescheduled Legislative elections, allegedly makes incessant visits on the office of the National election umpire.

    The state chairman of the party, Felix Obuah made the accusation in a statement in Port Harcourt, the state capital, yesterday.

    Obuah in his statement was trying to figure out the possible reason for the visits, which according to him has become too frequent for comfort and suspicious. His worry may not be unconnected with the fast approaching date for the rescheduled polls.

    In his words, Obuah said, “it is surprising that Abe can hardly comport himself and allow the electoral officers to do their job expeditiously.”

    He added, “if Abe is not accusing the electoral officers of taking sides, he is alleging one fraud or another just to play the spoiler, knowing full well that he cannot win any election in the entire Rivers South East.”

    On the part of PDP, the State Chairman said all that matters to the party is for the electoral body to do the right thing and ensure a smooth conduct of the re-run elections in which he believes the PDP will emerge victorious as usual.

    “Notwithstanding, we are keeping taps on every move by desperadoes and will never allow nor accept any act not in consonance with the principle of one man, one vote, to determine the final and the overall outcome of the re-run elections across the State,” Obuah warned.

    Abe was allegedly spotted in the INEC office on Monday and Friday last week and again, on Monday and Tuesday this week.

    Abe could not be reached as at press time for his reactions.