To counter the denial by the All Progressives Congress that its members did not defect to the Peoples Democratic Party, the leadership of the party in Rivers State, last week organised a colourful ceremony in Port Harcourt to openly receive the defecting APC members. Davidson Iriekpen witnessed the event and filed this report
The city of Port Harcourt was literally shut down last Thursday when thousands of members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The colourful ceremony, which held at the Sharks Stadium, saw the PDP rolling out drums and mobilising their members to receive the defectors into their fold.
Due to the bitter experience it received in the hands of members of the opposition party in the state and the federal government in recent times, PDP wanted to use the occasion to prove to the world that come 2019 election, it is the party to beat. In politics however, the table can turn within minutes.
As a result of this, the party led by Governor Nyesom Wike and other chieftains came out in their thousands to openly receive the defected members. At the end, about 10,000 members of the APC not only renounced their membership of the party, but regretted their sojourn in the party in the first place. The defectors who were from the 20 local government areas of the state, said they were tired of being in a party that lacked leadership and ignored the welfare of its members.
THISDAY gathered that PDP organised the mega rally to formally receive the defecting APC members because each time there was a news report that an APC member had defected to the PDP, the opposition party in the state would issue a counter statement to deny it. Consequent upon this, the PDP decided that it would organise a mega rally where it would formally receive the defecting APC members into its fold.
While the defectors from Asari Toru were led by the Leader of Asari Toru Legislative Assembly under the administration of former Governor Chibuike Amaechi, Hon. Orolosama Amachree, the ones from Degema were led by the Deputy Chairman-elect in the council election conducted by Amaechi in May before he left office, Mr. Samuel Ikiroma. One after the other, they lamented their sojourn in the APC, eulogizing Wike for his steadfastness despite the darts thrown at him by members of the APC to distract him.
Amachree said he was returning to the PDP with his followers because the APC had failed to meet their aspirations and also because of the achievements of Wike. He also lamented that APC leaders insisted they must hate and pull down the government of Wike, adding that they were told that Wike could not carry out any meaningful project in the state.
“They (APC leaders) should borrow a leaf from what is happening in Akwa Ibom State. After elections, the people have come together to support the government. We should all join hands to support Governor Nyesom Wike because he means well for Rivers State,” he said.
The height of the ceremony, however, was when the leader of the defectors from Degema, Ikiroma, tendered his certificate of return from the Rivers state Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to the state Chairman of the PDP, Mr. Felix Obuah, saying he was tired of being in court over the election.
A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had nullified the local government election conducted by Amaechi shortly before the end of his tenure in 2015. Ikiroma said they had to retrace their steps back to the PDP because of the hope it held out for people of the state.
Recall that about 200 former councillors elected on the platform of the APC in 2015, had announced their plans to leave the party for the PDP. They also agreed among themselves to withdraw the cases they filed against PDP. At a meeting attended by councillorship candidates, they expressed concern over the dwindling fortunes of the party in the state and the lack-lustre manner their leaders had handled the court matter which they said had suffered several setbacks in the past two years.
Disappointed over what he described as weak leadership of the party, Adams Ebuka said they have had enough.
He said: “How can we call ourselves chairmen and councillors while others are occupying positions and enjoying the perquisties of office? We must tell ourselves the truth. It is better we withdraw the case in court and face reality. The party leaders who got jobs in Abuja and Lagos seem to be representing themselves. They have left us to fend for ourselves.”
According to him, it is time for them to take their destiny into their hands.
Receiving the APC members, Wike said the APC has nothing to tell Rivers people on why they should remain in that party, adding that the defection of the members to the PDP signalled the death of the political party in the state because it was founded on falsehood and deception. The governor advised PDP leaders at all levels to accommodate the new members, saying that inclusive politics should be embraced across the board.
He said: “We were looking for our brothers they were kidnapped through lies and deceit. We prayed for our brothers to return and today they are back. Our brothers and sisters from the APC have returned at a time when the administration has started direct empowerment of the people. Everybody who has returned has equal rights with older members of the party.”
On his part, Chairman of the PDP in the state, Felix Obuah, lauded the defectors for their boldness and courage to leave the APC, which he said was a sinking ship. He said the event was the first batch of defectors, adding that in two weeks, another set APC members would defect to PDP.
Obuah promised the defectors that they would not be treated as new entrants into the party. He also hailed Wike for creating the enabling environment for members of other parties to appreciate development in the state, stressing that it was the record of Wike that made the defectors to dump the APC. He assured the defectors that they would be treated equally as members of the party and would enjoy all the privileges and rights of members of the PDP.
“I thank Wike for creating the enabling environment for what we are seeing today. If you listened to the defectors you heard them saying nobody convinced them to come back. The truth is that it is the performance record of the governor that has brought this development,” Obuah said.
Also speaking at the event, the former Acting National Chairman of PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, said that Rivers State is a PDP state. He also attributed the mass defection of APC members to outstanding performance of the governor.
Leader of the APC defetors, Chief Emeh Glory Emeh, said the APC has been decimated due to the performance of the governor. He said of the 84 leaders in APC in Rivers State, more than half had defected to the PDP. He said the remaining half, have already resolved to defect.
Emeh assured the defectors that the Wike’s administration would accommodate them. He described the governor as a kind-hearted leader, with elastic capacity to accommodate all persons irrespective of when they joined him. The seasoned politician, who had served Rivers State in different capacities, including as commissioner for transport and aviation during the administration of Dr. Peter Odili, told the defectors that the key to success and reward in the administration of Wike was hard work. He urged them to put in their best to ensure that the current government succeeds in providing the social and physical infrastructures required to enhance the quality of life of Rivers people.
Explaining that success in the game of politics is dependent on what you bring to the table, he emphasised that Wike has been so accepted in the state because of his giant strides in infrastructural development, and that it will take donkey years for any other politician to be an alternative to the incumbent.
Hear him: ”We have passed the era of rhetoric and ethnocentricity: In fact, Governor Wike has changed the tone of politics in Rivers State, from the concept of primordial consideration to ability to perform, as a precondition to voting any body into office. Rivers people should not lose sleep as the governor has combed all the crannies of the state and has attracted to himself all the relevant politicians needed for any political activity in the state, even though he has still kept the door open for new entrants.”
But in a swift reaction, the state chapter of the APC said those defecting to the PDP were rejected members of the APC. The state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Chris Finebone, said in a statement he issued in Port Harcourt yesterday that the PDP was merely presenting APC rejects as defectors.
He said: “Let it be on record that important APC stakeholders in Asari-Toru LGA have a dossier on the romance between Orolosama Amachree and the PDP in ASALGA over time. This culminated in a meeting they all held with Wike on December 8, 2016 in Government House, Port Harcourt. Subsequently, the APC placed surveillance on Orolosama while APC members in ASALGA distanced themselves from him especially in view of his treacherous behaviour during the December 10 rerun elections.
“It is laughable to hear Chief Glory Emeh refer to APC as party of lies and propaganda. In due time, a public presentation of the series of his lies and propaganda against his present master will be made to help the public judge who between APC and Emeh revels more in propaganda.
“Therefore, Orolosama Amachree formally pitching camp with the PDP is long expected and he is not likely to refrain from his penchant for easy money which has become very dire of late. On that account we believe it is good riddance to bad rubbish especially to the APC stakeholders in ASALGA who have endured and tolerated Orolosama’s antics for too long. True members of APC will continue to remain true to the party and its ideals while persons who place pecuniary interests above anything else are free to go for crumbs under Caesar’s table.”
Responding, a stalwart of the PDP, Chibuzor Aguma, dismissed Finebone’s assertion, saying he was only pretending. He said the APC in Rivers State had since died but would be buried by the time the remaining members defect in a few days.
He said: “It is very unfortunate that the APC is in this mess but I have no doubt that it will become very grave because, if you look, you will find that the party is made up of inexperienced men and women, while the experienced politicians are all in the PDP. That ordinarily should not have been a problem if not for the myopic and ‘dog eat dog’ situation in APC
“The sorry situation of Rivers APC is the massive movement of party stalwarts, particularly very few experienced politicians who worked under former governors Rufus Ada George and Peter Odili.
“The last straw that is set to break the carmel’s back, and which is likely to drown and bury APC in Rivers State with total finality was said to have been hatched in a meeting coordinated by a popular politician generally described as the technical strategist, and mathematical political manipulator from one of the upland local government areas.
“In that meeting, nine former commissioners and about 25 former office holders were in attendance. They were unanimous that time is ripe to make a movement and it will appear that survival of APC in Rivers State is now on a time machine.”
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We were looking for our brothers they were kidnapped through lies and deceit. We prayed for our brothers to return and today they are back. Our brothers and sisters from the APC have returned at a time when the administration has started direct empowerment of the people. Everybody who has returned has equal rights with older members of the party.
