The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been warned against compensating Senator Magnus Abe’s alleged rebellion against the party in Rivers state with a Senatorial ticket.
A chieftain of the APC in Rivers state, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, who gave the warning in a statement he issued and circulated in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, charged the National Secretariat of the party, as well as the State Chapter not to send a wrong signal to members of the party by embarking on any act that will destroy the principles on which the party was set up.
According to him, compensating the Senator with the party’s ticket and denying the legitimate aspiration of a loyal party leader like Ambassador Oji Ngofa, will not only be suicidal but sending the message that rebelling against the party’s authority will ultimately be compensated with juicy rewards, it would also escalate the crisis within the party.
Eze, who revealed that Senator Abe, an erstwhile ally of his, had attempted to recruit him into his project of tearing down the influence of the Minister of Transportation and former Governor of the State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, a lure he reportedly rejected, noted that further indulging the senator would only help in actualising the plans of sabotaging the Rivers APC, which he had hatched with the State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, whom he identified as an arch-enemy of the party.
“Senator Magnus Abe is not only a personal friend, but a brother very dear to my heart and family. I have nothing against any aspiration that he (Abe) intends to pursue, but I will not support any of his acts that will be detrimental to the collective aspiration of APC in Rivers State.
“It is an irrevocable fact that Abe approached me to join him in his futile act and movement to bring down the political family of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and contrary to my advice as his good friend not to venture into such an ungodly act that may nail his political career, he went ahead and today he has lost all his political relevance in the politics of Rivers state.
“I can’t be a party to any act that will rubbish Amaechi who has sacrificed his blood and resources to ensure that APC is what it is today, no matter the level of frustration or temptation. Instead, I will prefer to retire from politics than indulge in any act that will position me as a traitor, ingrate, an inhuman and heartless fellow.
“I must confess that I am sad that Senator Abe could be in the position that he has found himself just because he wants to rebel against a fellow whose inputs in his political life can’t be overemphasised.
“During the 2015 general elections, Abe and his cohorts teamed up to sabotage the fortunes of the party with hopes that he will reap out of it by 2019 and when he found out that it would not be possible he teamed up with Governor Wike of Rivers state to create the crisis that has become the lot of APC in the State.
“On the other hand, Ambassador Oji Ngofa has proved himself not only as a party loyalist, but one who is ready to offer his life for the greatness of the party in the Niger Delta region. He was among the very few that stood, fought and defeated Governor Wike in all his political games and to sacrifice such a fellow in order to make Abe and Wike happy will not only be termed wickedness, but also a demonstration of ungratefulness.
“Well, it is not a taboo to be ambitious but any ambition that will bring your leader down and harm the platform that brought you to prominence is not only calamitous, unfortunate but a bad one. I am sad that Abe have lost it and should be allowed to show serious remorse for all his anti party activities before he can be trusted with any other strategic position in the party, Eze counselled
“Finally, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi would have been the greatest casualty had Jonathan won in 2015 as a sitting governor, he put his entire political life at stake by joining the Buhari team and today Senator Magnus Abe and his Team have so disrespected, disparaged, despised him and constituted himself as a clog in APC’s wheel of progress in Rivers and for anybody thinking of entrusting such a fellow with an APC ticket is not being fair and just to the party and her members, Eze said.
