Senator Abe advises on how to resolve Rivers APC crisis

THE Senator  representing Rivers SouthEast Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, has said  if members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Rivers State could overcome the internal struggle, the party will be stronger and the crises in APC River State will end. Abe, a governorship aspirant on APC platform, who is a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG) in the administration of Rotimi Amaechi, now Transportation Minister, assured that the current crises rocking Rivers APC would strengthen the main opposition party and boost the chances of candidates of APC to emerge victorious during the February 16 and March 2, 2019 general elections. He admonished APC stakeholders to maintain the unity of the party, rather than taking the issues personally.

Abe, according to his Spokesperson, Parry Benson, yesterday in an online statement, assured that Rivers APC would come out stronger, if the right things were done. He noted that one of the issues that brought Rivers APC to its knees was the process of not producing a candidate that would be acceptable to the law, stating that he did not have issues with whoever emerged, as long as the right things were done.

The senator stressed that he supports whoever emerges as APC  candidate in the state, but pointed out that the process by which the candidate would emerge was very essential. He said: “The APC is made up of human beings. People put their lives on the line to create the party you call APC in Rivers State and those people are alive. They are there in the state. “So, if they fight for what they believe in, I do not think it will weaken the party. At the end of the day, Rivers APC will come out stronger, if we are able to do the right thing.

“People will have more confidence in the ability of the party (APC) to deliver on its core commitment to Rivers people, because they are also watching what we are doing. So, if we overcome this struggle internally, I believe that the party will actually be stronger. At the core of the challenges facing Rivers APC is that people actually want alternatives that they know will work. “We must be able to convince them from within the party that the alternative that we are offering  the people is one that will actually work and bring something different from what they are seeing at the moment.

“Another thing is that the legal foundation, on which the Tonye Cole’s candidacy is based, both moral and legal, is very faulty. If leaders of the party decide to be quiet and ignore such a trend, it may lead to the party being completely shortchanged. “People must be able to speak up and be able to stand for what will help the APC in Rivers State. People have put in so much. People have suffered so much in the state for us to leave them with no options. I believe that at the end of the day, the party will emerge stronger.