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The crisis in the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) deepened on Sunday as Tonye Cole and Senator Magnus Abe emerged winners of the parallel governorship primaries held by the two factions of the party.
At the indirect governorship primary held by the faction loyal to the minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, Cole emerged victorious, polling 3,329 votes to defeat Dr Dawari George, who got 491 votes, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs (38 votes) and Magnus Abe (one vote).
Eighteen votes were declared void by the Jafar Isah-led Rivers Governorship Primary Committee.
However, according to the result of the primary held by the Abe-led faction, as declared by the returning officer, Dr Chigbo Sam Eligwe, Abe won the guber ticket with 144,929 votes, as against Dumo Lulu-Briggs’ 3,344 votes, Dawari George’s 1,606 and Tonye Dele Cole’s 882 votes.
Our reporter said that while the Amaechi-led APC conducted an indirect primary on the Igboukwu field in D-Line, Port Harcourt, the Magnus Abe faction adopted the direct primary across the three senatorial districts of the state and various local government areas.
Hours before the start of the exercise in Port Harcourt by the Amaechi-led APC, at about 12.30pm, there were explosions near the secretariat of the party. This, however, did not stop the exercise.
Also before the primaries, one of the governorship aspirants on the platform of the APC, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, had accused the minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, of trying to impose his preferred aspirant, Tonye Cole, on the party.
Lulu-Briggs also claimed that certain persons had been handpicked from various wards as delegates to the primary in breach of the party’s constitution and guidelines.
Noting that names were being added and deleted from the delegates’ list, he called for the postponement of the governorship primary in the state, saying this was necessary in order to enhance transparency.
“When the NWC reached the decision that indirect primaries be adopted for the governorship primary in Rivers, as a loyal party man, I accepted the decision in good faith despite the fact that there are pending litigation in various courts, which might vitiate and truncate the process.
“I thus ramped up my campaign, but soon discovered that our party structures from the state executive committee, local government and ward excos across the state have been directed by Rotimi Amaechi, leader of our party in the state, not to allow me access to our party faithful and delegates, but to only support the aspiration of his preferred aspirant, Tonye Cole.
“It is clear from the foregoing that the minimum standards to guarantee a free and fair primary today (Sunday) are nonexistent and any primary held today will be a mere sham and a perfidious travesty.
“To this end, I, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, most graciously appeal to the national chairman of our great party and the NWC to, as a matter of utmost urgency, postpone the governorship primary for Rivers State so as to correct the anomalies herein complained of because the current arrangement falls short of the minimum standards stipulated by the Electoral Act and our party constitution.”
Reports indicate that Abe and Lulu-Briggs were absent from the venue of the primary elections in Port Harcourt conducted by the Amaechi-led faction, while Dr. Dawari George has congratulated Tonye Cole on his victory.
PDP Nominates Wike
Meanwhile, Rivers State governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, also on Sunday, emerged victorious as the governorship candidate for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2019 general elections in Rivers.
While making an acceptance speech after the primary elections, Wike said he would not disappoint the people for placing their confidence in him after the general elections in 2019.
Describing Rivers as one of the safest states in Nigeria, he noted that the reason was the massive investments he provided for the security agencies to fight crime in the state.
‘’In the past three and half years, we have experienced tremendous economic growth as a result of our investments in the security system which has attracted local and foreign investors,’’ he added.
“As a former council chairman, a former chief of staff and a former minister, I shall bring my experience to bear in the continued governance of the state,” Wike said.
He pledged to provide more democratic dividends for the people in his second tenure in 2019, while asking Rivers people to vote massively to return the PDP to power in 2019.
Earlier, the chairman of the Electoral Panel and the Returning Officer of the PDP primary elections, Chukwuma Chinwe, said 3,490 voters were accredited for the primary.
He noted that of the 3,490 total votes, 3,345 voted in favour of Wike as the candidate for the PDP governorship elections in 2019, with nine voided votes.
