November 26 , 2007
PRESS RELEASE
ACTION CONGRESS AC RIVERS STATE, STATE SECRETARIAT, UBIMA CLOSE RUMUIBEKWE
HOUSING ESTATE OPPOSITE SHELL RESIDENTIAL AREA PORT HARCOURT RIVERS STATE
08033418541. E-mail:actioncongressriversstate_07@yahoo.com
NATIONAL SECRETARIAT NO. 16 BISSAU STREET WUSE ZONE 6 ABUJA NIGERIA
THE NEW DIRECTIVE BY THE AC NATIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR US IN RIVERS STATE AC TO CONTINUE WITH OUR PETITION BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL – OUR STAND!
We have read in the National dailies of today the new position of our National Leader in Action Congress, the former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alh. Atiku Abubakar through his Media Campaign Organisation on our petition which has already being withdrawn from the Election Tribunal sitting at Port Harcourt stating that he never approved the withdrawal of our petition from the Tribunal and that our petition should be sustained.
When we got this devastating news this morning an emergency State Exco and Stakeholders meeting of the party in Rivers State was conveyed under the Deputy Governor aspirant of AC in the person of Chief Williams Igwe in absence of Prince Tonye Princewill the AC Leader in the State with Elder GPI Pubonemi the acting Chairman, Okis Bob-Manual the State Secretary, Dr Welle Edith TPCO Women Leader, Madam Ibibuo the State Women Leader, Rev. Amoni Soberesima the Chairman of the Chairmen, (Hon) Diamond Tobi- West, Mr. Norisa Pepple the Youth Leader and other stakeholders of the party in the State and decided we in AC in Rivers State and members of Tonye Princewill Campaign Organisation though felt betrayed and devastated by this new development wish to state that we are not in position to exchange words with our National Leader on this as we hold him in very high esteem and will for ever continue to accord him all the respect and honour due to him no matter the present situation. Atiku Abubakar is not only our elder he is our leader so we have no intention of contradicting him. We will like to state that as people from Rivers State we are better informed of the intricacies, problems and the stand of our people on this issue. We are in politics to emancipate our people, and provide good leadership to them.
We will like to reiterate, for avoidance of doubt that we have no other State to call our own expects Rivers State and we will do every thing with our powers to positively participate in any act that will move the State forward. Our support for Gov. Amaechi is total and no amount of treachery, blackmail and falsehood will stop this new strategy and union geared towards liberating the State from a clique that has held it spell bound in poverty these past unprogressive eight years.
The party and our candidate at the state level take full responsibility for their actions and stand by them. We are principled in the belief that our ambitions are not blind to the goings on in Rivers State and it is this peculiar fact that has driven our decision. It remains a Rivers State matter even though the opinions of others were invaluable as demonstrated by our actions.
The days of politicians compromising local politics for national politics are over. We are accountable to the people of Rivers State who have been shortchanged so terribly for far too long. It is they whom we have to face and we do, every single day of every single week. The national dynamics with due respect to it, isn't the same as the local dynamics. Atiku and Buhari are seeking to rid the country of the Obasanjo influence while here in Rivers we are seeking to rid the state of the Odili influence. Different dynamics, the same goal. re are many ways to skin a cat. We have skinned ours. If the risk of returning Odili is increased by our petition removing Amaechi, then we must ask and answer difficult questions.
As for the rantings of Meow Kpagane, he should be disregarded. He has been suspended by the party for almost a month for allegedly taking bribes from PDP and the state INEC to persuade AC to participate in the conduct of the Omehia induced local government elections. They were ultimately declared illegal by a competent court in Port Harcourt on the instigation of court action by the AC here in Rivers State. In addition he went to court to swear an affidavit that the party did not have his consent at the time to partake in the court action, thereby attempting to undermine our case. He failed. We won. Even after he collected millions of Naira on behalf of the party to conduct an illegal election by fielding candidates without their own knowledge or consent.
Let us conclude by saying that AC in Rivers State is fully focused on the forthcoming elections and the consolidation of our party in Rivers State. In place of Kpagane, Elder Tubonemi the Vice Chairman will be acting until the outcome of the investigation is concluded. We have also moved the party secretariat to a brand new office in Ubima Close off Bori Road in Rumubekwe opposite Shell R.A. Nothing will distract us from this focus and the tasks at hand. The women, youth, elders, LGA Chairmen, Candidates Forum and the entire Exco align with this position. For avoidance of doubt these and other actions have been communicated to the South South Vice Chairman Prince Austin Eweka who is in receipt of relevant evidence and documentation. Copies can be made available to you. We at this point would like to thank our leader in the state Prince Tonye Princewill for his resilience, wisdom, love for the party and courage and pledge our undying loyalty to stand by him every single step of the way.
Signed
1. C hief Williams Igwe: Deputy Governor Aspirant
2. Elder GPI Pubonemi: the Deputy Chairman
3. Okis H. Bob Manuel: Secretary, Action Congress Rivers State
4. Rev. Amoni Soberesima: The Chairman of the Chairmen Forum
5 Hon) Diamond Tobi- West
State Women Leader
- Dr Mrs. Edith Welle
- TPCO Women Leader
Elder of the Party
State Youth Leader