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By Joel Anekwe
Against all expectations that the Senator Magnus Abe faction of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has given up on the protracted imbroglio bedeviling the party, the faction Tuesday morning unveiled what it call the party’s state Working Committee, SWC, led by Golden Ben Chioma.
This was as the Chibuike Amaechi faction threatened to unleash the security agencies to arrest the Abe faction executives after being sworn in, describing them as impersonators.
Chioma, a former member of the Rivers State House of Assembly was originally billed to contest with the Amaechi faction, which held its congress at the Polo Club, Port Harcourt on October 16, 2021, but was later reported to have avoided screening for the exercise and therefore did not participate in the last Saturday’s congress.
But Tuesday morning, at a brief ceremony at the Freedom House, the campaign office of the Sen. Magnus Abe faction, tagged the ‘Unveiling of the Executives of the Rivers APC,’ the APC faction presented a list of members of its state executive with Chioma as chairman.
Recall that the APC last Saturday, held its state congresses across the country during which the Rivers faction of the party loyal to Rotimi Amaechi held a well-publicised exercise at the Polo field in Port Harcourt.
Emeka Beke was later announced winner of the chairmanship position which was contested for by two other candidates, Chizi Nyeomasila and John Ogbueri. No mention was made of any factional congress holding anywhere in Rivers State on the said date.
But at the Tuesday event at the Freedom House, even without telling journalists the venue of the exercise or the names of the APC National/INEC representatives who conducted or witnessed the congress, the Abe faction presented a list of 27 members who emerged from their own version of the congress.
The elected officers according to the party are; Golden Ben Chioma – chairman; Mike Amakiri – deputy chairman and Engr Ineye Jack as secretary. Others include; Chieme Chinwekpe – legal adviser; Frank Wanodi – organising secretary; Innocent Ajaelu – treasurer and Mrs Briggs Ibibio – fin secretary.
In his remarks, the factional Rivers APC chairman, Golden Chioma said the party held its ward, local government and state congresses on the slated dates, adding that the persons standing with him were those who emerged at last Saturday’s congress.
He said; “let me sound a note of warning that this party is a political party and only known to contest elections. We don’t want to lose any election anymore, we don’t want to be second best, we want to be the best and we want to produce the next governor of Rivers State.
“We are at this juncture serving a notice to the governor of Rivers State, please prepare your handover note, you must leave in 2023”.
Chioma explained that Rivers State was so important in the Nigeria project that “we cannot remain in the opposition. APC will rule Nigeria, APC will rule Rivers State. Rivers State is so important that we must not only hear the news that Nigeria is moving forward from third parties, because our state does not participate in APC caucus, because our governor is in the opposition”.
“So for us to be part of the Nigeria project we must have a governor that is in the APC”.
But in a swift reaction, Amaechi’s faction stated that though their elected executives were yet to be sworn in there was no parallel congress in Rivers APC on Saturday.
“What qualifies as parallel congress is when the team sent by the APC CECPC conducted two congresses with INEC and security agencies observing. There was no such thing that happened in Rivers State last Saturday”, Chris Finebone, the publicity secretary-elect of the Amaechi faction stated.
He added; “The team from Abuja conducted the only congress that took place in Rivers State at the Polo Club, Port Harcourt. That exercise saw the emergence of Chief Emeka Bekee as the state chairman with other officers for various positions.
As soon as we are inaugurated, we will get security agencies to go after any imposters, right into their holes and fish them out to face the law. You just watch. They are impersonators”.