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By Godwin Chukwumaechi, Port Harcourt
Senator Magnus Abe, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State has said his party would not fight with anybody over the N5 million non-refundable campaign fee imposed on all political parties in the state for use of public facilities for political campaigns.
He said he has advised his campaign organisation to liaise with the state Ministry of Education on how to obtain permission to use public facilities for their campaigns without fighting anybody.
Abe made the statement Thursday in Port Harcourt, at Saint Paul’s Anglican Cathedral, during the flag-off and dedication service of the SDP campaign for the forthcoming 2023 elections.
The state governor, Nyesom Wike, last week imposed a fee of N5 million non-refundable fee on all political parties in the state that wish to use public facilities like school premises for its political campaigns.
Abe revealed that some unnamed leaders in the state made efforts to stop him and other candidates of the party from participating in the 2023 general elections, but expressed thanks to God for granting him the opportunity to be in the ballot to contest the March 2023 governorship election.
Abe told some of the dignitaries at the event; “It is your presence here and how you have come, you have convinced me beyond everything that the Almighty God is with us and we will win.
“Now, that brings us to the question people will ask; why are we here? Like I said, we are here to thank God. Those who know the course of the journey that brought us this far, know that we have every reason to be grateful to God.
“Those who know that efforts that were made to frustrate us, to make it impossible for us to present ourselves before Rivers people as candidates in the 2023 election, will know that it is important that we come here to thank God even for the honour and privilege of being on the ballot. It was not as easy as it will look.
“Those who have power had already decided that we will never contest this election because everybody was afraid. Someone even told me that they know that if I contest, I will win, but tell me; how will you get the ticket? God has answered that question. We have the ticket, we are on the ballot, we will contest and we will win.”
Earlier in his sermon, the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Niger Delta North, Rt. Reverend Wisdom Ihunwo, said God will cause the campaigns and the 2023 general elections to be peaceful.
Ihunwo said: “We thank God again for another period of election in our nation, Nigeria. We pray God will cause the campaigns and the 2023 elections to be peaceful.
“We pray God to give everybody understanding so that no life will be lost during the campaigns and election proper. We commend Senator Abe and his team and pray that God will guide them through the campaigns.”
The service was attended by party’s deputy governorship candidate, Dr. Patricia Ogbonnaya and other party leaders in the state, as well as the Anglican Bishop of Ogoni Diocese, Rt. Reverend Solomon Gberegbara.
