A former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze says the successful conduct of the State Congress of the APC, Rivers State, on Saturday October 16, 2021, by the Congress Committee commissioned by the Buni-led Caretaker & Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), has settled the turbulent tides that submerged the ship conveying the Rivers APC to the 2019 elections.
In a statement made available to media houses, in Port Harcourt, Chief Eze said the democratic process adopted in the congress which culminated to the emergence of High Chief Emeka Beke, a loyal and conscious party-man, as State Chairman, after a fierce contest, leaves no room for the return of another version of 2019 affliction that betided the Rivers APC which shattered hopes and demolished aspirations.
However, reacting to the news of a parallel congress organised, supervised and conducted by Sen. Magnus Abe and the re-opening of a rival party office in Port Harcourt, Eze said Abe has lost touch with reality, noting that a repeat of the device he adopted to rip-off the party, its candidates and the Rivers public in 2019 will definitely turnout void, as the party has been remodeled with anti ballistic missile features to intercept political rocket fires from the likes of the former Rivers South/East senator and his friends.
Recall that Abe held an inauguration ceremony for his friends whom he will be using as dogs of vandals against the Rivers APC ahead of the 2023 elections.
READ ALSO: https://www.thexpressng.com/2021/10/29/buba-marwa-gives-them-bloody-nose/
According to reports, those inaugurated include Golden Chioma as State chairman, Mike Amakiri, Deputy Chairman, Inye Jack as Secretary, Joy Woko, State woman leader among others.
Chief Eze, however commended President Buhari and the National leadership of the All Progressives Congress, for strongly restating the position of the party on the conduct of parallel congresses.
The party had in a statement issued by the Secretary of the CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe, warned against the conduct of parallel congresses and the parading of unlawful party officers; as such actions would not be tolerated.
In a statement titled “APC Congratulates Party Members on Successful State Congresses”, the party said any Congress conducted but not supervised by the Congress Committee set up by the National Leadership of the party is illegal and of no consequence to the funtionability of the duly elected State Exco of the party in any State including Rivers State.
Excerpts from the statement issued by the party partly reads; “…However, our attention has been drawn to reports of so-called and purported “parallel” Congresses. To borrow the phrase of one of our esteemed governors, such “parallel” Congresses are mere naming ceremonies.
The purported “parallel” Congresses are futile activities and very strange to the party, our Constitution and the guidelines for the conduct of the State and other Congresses.
Only exercises conducted by duly inaugurated State Congress Committees are recognised by the Party. The APC leadership will not hesitate to take adequate and lawful measures against any person or interest sabotaging the collective Party’s interest and efforts to achieve peace and unity in our great party.
Where contestations exist, adequate conflict resolution measures have been put in place to address them. The party has Appeal committees for every Congress.
Recall also that the Party has inaugurated the National Reconciliation Committee under the chairmanship of Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, former Governor of Nasarawa state to reconcile all differences among stakeholders and party members.
Affirming the position of both the National Leader of the party, President Buhari and the National Chairman of the Party, Alh. Buni, Prof. Ussiju Medaner the, APC National Organising Secretary while speaking on Channels TV program, Politics Today reinstated that, “There was no parallel Congress in any State.
According to Professor Ussiju Medaner, “f the Seven-Man Committee sent by the National to conduct the congress in a state are by any reason divided to conduct different congress, that is the only time you say there was a parallel Congress in a state but if all the seven man committee were in the same venue, any other function outside the venue has nothing to do with the congress.”
Cable Newspaper, a leading Media outfit in Nigeria in her recent publication maintained that Rivers State APC is among 20 State Chapters of the party where Congress was peacefully and duly conducted and Chief Emeka Beke was duly elected, so where does this leaves Abe and his misguided group with.
I therefore plead with some Media Organisations that have continued to portray or present to the outside world an erroneous picture that Rivers State APC is in crisis or factionalized. Please for avoidance of doubt, APC in Rivers State is more united now than ever under the watch of the workaholic Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
It is sad and unfortunate in his sheer disobedience to lawful directives of President Buhari, pertaining to peaceful running of party affairs, and in order to drive home his self-serving aspiration fueled by some fading external forces, Eze said defiant Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has mockingly and gradually pushed himself out of the party and now on the frolic of his own.
Eze restated that Abe has never been interested in the progress of the APC since 2015 when he and others connived to frustrate the chances of the party to form government in Rivers State. He again, openly displayed his idiosyncratic antipathy to the APC in 2019, when he shunned every wise counsel and ambushed the party on its way to victory in 2019.
Abe has severally boasted that APC will not survive without him despite the fact that he vehemently refused to revalidate his membership of the party.
Although no longer a member, Eze maintained that the National leadership of the party must rise to the occasion and keep Abe where he belongs, in order to allow the Rivers APC Chairman-elect, High Chief Emeka Beke and his team concentrate on the onerous task of rebuilding the Rivers APC for progress.