April 19, (THEWILL) – A former senator representing Rivers south-east senatorial district, Magnus Abe has declared to contest the state governorship election in the 2023 general election.
Senator Abe made the declaration made the declaration, on Sunday, during the inauguration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Vanguard for Ward 4, 5 and 6 in Gokana Council of the state.
Abe’s declaration came barely a week after 10 APC governorship aspirants loyal to the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, signed an agreement to support whoever emerges as the party’s standard bearer in the 2023 general election.
The Senator, however, pledged to support any aspirant of the party who emerged in a “free and fair contest”.
Addressing his supporters, Abe said Rivers needs a candidate with integrity that can deliver.
“We don’t need a riverine candidate that is known to Amaechi. We don’t need an upland candidate that is known to anybody,” he said.
“What we need is a Rivers candidate that is known to the Rivers people, that has the capacity, that has the track record, that has integrity to be able to deliver the kind of life that Rivers people expect. I think that is what Rivers people need now.
“And that is why I have said, and I want to repeat, that I, senator Magnus Ngei Abe, I will contest for the gubernatorial ticket of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers state.
“If there is a fair, transparent and inclusive process that allows that contest to go on freely, I will participate and as a democrat, I will submit to the result.
“Let me warn and advise and plead with the party. We have been down this road too many times. We should not make the same mistake again. There should be an end to political rascality in Rivers state. We should not do the same thing over and over again — disregard the people and expect a different result; it will not come.”
In 2019, the Rivers APC was disqualified from nominating candidates for the governorship and state assemblies’ elections, owing to the leadership tussle in the party.
The crisis in the Rivers APC was mainly between factions loyal to Abe and Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation.
In March 2021, the faction loyal to Amaechi secured a victory in court when the supreme court affirmed the sack of Igo Aguma (a loyalist of Abe) as the caretaker committee chairman of Rivers APC.
In October 2021, Emeka Beke, an ally of Amaechi, emerged as the new party chairman in the state.
The Beke-led state executive for Rivers was inaugurated in February 2022.
Meanwhile, the recent developments in Rivers APC show that Abe will have to contest with Amaechi’s loyalists in a bid to clinch the party’s governorship ticket.
The APC governorship primaries are scheduled to hold in May 2022.
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