Rivers APC accuses Wike of trying to take over party

Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State are fighting against those who want Nyesom Wike, the state’s former governor, to take over the party’s leadership amid the ongoing debate over who will be appointed to the ministerial seat.

Darlington Nwauju, the APC publicity secretary for Rivers State, made these remarks during an appearance on Arise Television on Sunday. He claimed that many people lost their lives during the party’s formation in the state and that it would be unfair to reward the man who led the party’s efforts in the state during a time of great difficulty.

Apparently, “we wrote to the President officially, explaining the situations surrounding the APC in Rivers State and also the frolicking of some senior party members with the immediate past governor of our state,” he said.

Now, let me say this: it would be a disgrace for our party to include someone who supervised Rivers State while dozens of our people were murdered. For people who aren’t even members of our political party to start calling for the outgoing governor to come take over our party or be rewarded by our political party is an insult to us.

To put it bluntly, “we feel this is too disparaging for a party that has had a very checkered history right from 2014,” and “the setting up of APC in Rivers State has taken the blood of innocent people.”

When asked to elaborate, he said, “We cannot, as a political party in Rivers State, look the likes of the Adube family in the face, the likes of the Chisom Lenard family, and several other persons who were cruelly slaughtered for belonging to the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State.

We have no idea what to tell them. Therefore, we don’t view this as merely a moral dilemma. The question is whether or not our party is willing to abandon every sense of decency. Is our group up for the task of laughing and clapping over the bodies of the dead?

In addition, he claimed that Wike paid for supporters to run ads promoting his candidacy for governor of Rivers State in the All Progressives Congress (APC).

If you’ve been keeping up with recent events, you’ll know that the immediate past governor has been sending people to campaign in the name of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and asking for his leadership.

Is there a lack of leadership in the APC? They have leadership in the APC. The APC has a solid organizational framework that spans all 319 wards.

Thus, “for any group or individuals to become overnight lobbyists on behalf of the immediate past governor is very, very prosperous,” Nwauju said.

He also said someone was making absurd demands that Wike be appointed as Rivers State’s minister.

And I’m referring to the former governor’s Chief of Staff, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. One Mr. Tony Okocha, who has been tirelessly advocating for the recent ex-governor to join our party and assume leadership roles, has been called on to step down.

To the point of being ludicrous, the former governor of Rivers State is demanding to be appointed to a cabinet position. I have to wonder what became of the many competent people who once belonged to our political party. Are my credentials not up to par to serve as a minister for the Federal Republic, he asked?