senatorial district yesterday protested against what they term imposition
of candidate by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi on the All
Progressives Congress, APC in the just concluded governorship primary in
Rivers State.
The protesters led by Senator Wilson Ake and former Commissioner for Power
in the state, Augustine Nwokocha matched to the Area Command of the
Nigerian Police, Ahoada East Local Government Area of the state where they
register their displeasure.
Displaying placards with different inscriptions such as ‘No to imposition
of candidates in Rivers State’, ‘We will not hand over our party to a
businessman who has not worked for the party in the state, ‘The party must
practice the change they preach by doing what is right.’
Speaking to newsmen at the Area Command, Ahoada East, Senator Ake said
the adoption of Amaechi preferred aspirant, Tonye Cole as the State APC
standard bearer by the party’s National Working Committee, NWC is
unacceptable to the party in the state.
Ake accused Amaechi of using his closeness to President Buhari to impose
his candidate through indirect primaries which is against the decision of
party.
Ake recalled that the APC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) had earlier
adopted the use of direct primary to choose the party’s candidate, but
wondered why the National Working Committee (NWC), changed the mode to
indirect primary to favour a particular candidate.
He said, “This development is unfair and contrary to the promise of
President Mohammadu Buhari to allow for direct primary in order for
transparency, openness, and inclusiveness in the process”.
“We wonder why the NEC, the highest decision-making organ of the APC
should say one thing and the NWC would change it to another,” he said.
He maintained that in the direct primary held by the party in conformity
with the earlier decision by the party’s national leadership, Senator
Magnus Abe won overwhelmingly.
Senator Ake insisted that the party stands by the mandate freely given to
Abe by members of the APC in the state, saying, that the party will use
every constitutional means to ensure that the victory stands.
He however appealed to supporters of the party across the state to
continue to be peaceful and remain calm; assuring that justice will
prevail in the end.
Also speaking, Hon. Augustine Nwokocha who is the candidate of APC for
Rivers West senatorial district called on the NWC to give the people of
the State the opportunity to follow their preferred candidate in order to
wrestle power from the incumbent PDP government in the state come 2019.
On his part, a youth leader in the Orashi region, James Nnamdi accused
Amaechi of pursuing an ethnic agenda to have presented Tonye Cole who he
claimed is unpopular to match up with the PDP.
A senior Police Officer while responding to the protesters thanked them
for being peaceful and promised to channel their complaints to the
appropriate quarters.