Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
There is pall of confusion in the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), over claims by a chieftain of the party, Tony Okocha that he was the new leader of the party in the state.
Okocha, who was the Chairman, Local Organising Committee, of the APC for the recent presidential election campaign in the state, alleged that the former governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, was involved in anti-party activities, and therefore, lost the position to him.
The APC chieftain made the claim while reacting on a comment by a faction of the Tinubu/Shettima supporter’s group, distancing themselves from Okocha’s assurance that they would reciprocate Governor Nyesom Wike’s support to the victory of Tinubu, in the March 11 governorship election in the state.
Speaking on reason for dethroning Amaechi from a position he has manned in the state for many years, Okocha claimed that, the immediate past Minister of Transportation was allegedly involved in anti-party activities during the February 25, presidential election in Rivers.
He alleged that Amaechi never supported the emergence of the president-elect, Bola Tinubu,but advised his supporters to vote for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.
“It is certain that our former leader, Rt Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, a day to the presidential election, ordered his supporters to go and vote for the candidate of the PDP. We have it on record from good authority that he also voted for the candidate of the PDP who is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“That necessarily by nature, disqualifies him as a leader and that I Chief Tony Okocha, who won election with my own faction for our presidential candidate is now the leader of APC in Rivers State. Don’t forget that he also become the leader of the party on ground of him being a serving Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We are saying that a new leadership has emerged, we are not divided,” he said.
Okocha, who dismissed allegation that he was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), working against the growth of APC in the state, advised his APC members to avoid any form of influence to commit violence during the gubernatorial election in the state.
