…SENATOR MAGNUS NGEI ABE CALLS FOR INCLUSIVENESS
DOM ZIMEGAPI
The authentic All Progressive Congress-APC led by Peter Odike JP as Acting Chairman on Friday 17th of August opened its state party Secretariat at 175 Aba Road Port Harcourt beside Catholic Mission. The expansive compound according to Barrister Wogu Boms ex Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General during ex Governor Amaechi’s administration explained to the teeming audience that the authentic APC state secretariat is not Senator Magnus Abe’s party office but that it belongs to all members of APC in Rivers state. He therefore called on all members of APC in Rivers state to embrace Acting Chairman Peter Odike’s led APC in the state while Senator Magnus Ngei Abe used that occasion to explain to the audience that although there is existing court matter involving a faction led by Ojukaiye Flag Amachree who purportedly claimed to have been elected in a state congress at Elekahia community hall in Port Harcourt in an alleged state congress, senator Magnus Abe said “ Court Ordered that APC leadership in Rivers state should return to status quo and the one with acting Chairman Peter Odike JP in the eyes of the law and Public Opinion remains legitimate as Appeal Court’s stay of Execution of the Court ORDER does not invalidate the substance of the case.
As he stated thus “We have decided to cut this programme short because the number of people here is too much and if we continue to stay here it will be difficult for a lot of people so we have decided to cut the programme short so that you can go. First of all I want to give all thanks and glory to Almighty God, without God we will not be able to gather here today, He is the ultimate power. He is the power that can open a Secretariat and nobody can close it (crowd roar—yes ooo!) He is the power that can bring all of us here safely and take us back safely. He is the power that can bring peace where there is no peace (peace-hurt). He is God who does all things. And to him I admonished all glory and acknowledgement.
Having said that I want to acknowledge all the leaders that are here and if I call their names one after the other we will sleep here. But let me first acknowledge members of the House of Assembly, Federal House of Representatives and Distinguished Senator Wilson Asinobi Ake, All our leaders across the three senatorial zone Chief Allwell ONYESOH, Chief Marcus Nle Ejii, The Director General Freedom House Wogu Boms, All the leaders, But this is a family and I am glad that we are here. Let me specially acknowledge our women, without women nobody can win an election (Crowd roar—yes ooo) so I especially acknowledge the women.
Let me acknowledge our youths, you know if they have seen you people they would not have tried to come and spoil anything here. But I want to thank everybody who listens to me who refused to be provoked, who refused to attack anybody back, this is a movement about peace, this is a movement about progress, this is a movement about prosperity. And we will not be provoked into shedding innocent blood. So, I thank you people. Youth –APC! (Magnus For Governor). Let me thank the elders without the maturity wisdom, guidance of the elders the society will float and perish.
Let me say that I am grateful to everybody particularly to the leadership of state executive Council of our party. It is important that we remember that this executive of our party is the only executive of this party that was put together by all groups in the party. There is no group that did not participate in putting this executive together. This is the only executive that is open to everybody in the party. This is the executive that was in place when the Court gave the Order that the party should return to statusquo and voided all the congresses at that time. Chief Tony Okocha is he here …yes, please specially acknowledge our former Chief of Staff Chief Tony Okocha…Thank You.
Let me say that therefore in view of the existing legal situation in the All Progressive Congress in Rivers state this is the only executive that has no legal or moral impediment and it is therefore open to all members of leaders of the party and can serve all members of this party. I want to associate myself with them. I want to say that I support them and I stand with them.
Because this is the only executive that is open to everybody. This is the only secretariat where you don’t have to preach any message of hate against any individual before you can enter as long as you believe in APC. As long as you believe in (President Muhammadu Buhari). As long as you know that Adams Oshiomhole is our Chairman this secretariat is your home. You don’t have to know Senator Abe before you can come here. You don’t have to meet our leader Rotimi Amaechi before you can come here. You don’t have to meet any person before you can come here as long as you are a member of APC you can come here.
Let me also say that time has come for us to make peace in the party. People should not see peace as deceit. Peace is what we need, to move the party forward. And let me also say that sending people to come and shoot members of our party will not bring peace. Sending people to begin campaign of calumny against leaders of the party will not bring peace. I want to say that in the court of Public opinion as in the court of law you cannot charge somebody with one offense and then you convict him of another offence. We were united in this party. We were together in this party. We were eating and drinking together without any problem. What was the problem? A charge was led against some of us and that charge that was made against us just to say that we were ambitious. ..Because Senator Abe was ahead to have said that he is interested in running for (the post of) Governor. They said we were disloyal, because we refused to stop when we were “asked to stop“. That was the charge that was made against us. It was on that basis that this party was Balkanized and that hatred was introduced. That the party was almost destroyed in the state because, they said senator Abe and all those with him must leave the party because they are not loyal and because they are ambitious. Today that charge has collapsed both in the court of law and in the court of public opinion. Instead of trying us on the charge which they made they have turned around now to try to convict us of the charge that was never filed.
If you read the paper today all that I am hearing now is that “Oh we are colluding with PDP and that we are colluding with (Governor) Wike. Is that what they said at the beginning?( crowd roar..Noooo !) It is too late to introduce issues that were not there.
What you said at the beginning was that we were disloyal and that we were ambitious. Take that charge to the public and prove it and convict us. You cannot turn around at end and convict us of a charge that you did not plead. If you knew that we were colluding with Wike in the beginning, you should have said so. If you knew that we were working with PDP in the beginning you should have said so. We did not say so for over a year and half you were hounding members of the party, denying them of their rights, doing all manner of things to them on the basis that they were disloyal and that they were ambitious. Now that you see that that has failed you cannot turn around to convict people of an offense of which they were never charged. It is not done in law, and it is not also done in the court of public opinion. That will fail and it has failed.
The proper thing for us to do is to begin to look for things that will actually bring us together. I want to say without fear or favour that we need a united APC in Rivers state. And that is why this Secretariat is open to every member of our party who is desirous of victory for the APC. Nobody wants the present contraption called a government in our state to continue. We want a change. We want a true change. We want true progress. We want true prosperity. But we can achieve that in an atmosphere of mutual respect not just for each other but even for the opposition. We can achieve that in an atmosphere of peace that respects the rights of other people and is ready to accommodate the voices of dissent. That is why we will never send our members to go and attack anybody. We will never ask our youths to carry guns against members of All Progressive Congress. We will never ask our people to kill any RIVERS MAN because we want power but because we want power for the sake of the people.
I want to use this opportunity to sincerely thank all members of this party who have stood firm, who have remained committed to the ideals of our party. I am to say to you that the part we are on is the part of justice. Those who want peace must first of all acknowledge that there must be justice. Without justice there will be no peace. In this state for us to have peace we must have justice. The next governor of our state must come from the Rivers South East (Senatorial District) ….(crowd roar) without that there can be no peace….because that is the course of justice and that is the part of equity. Those who want to divide our party, those who want to divide our state, those who are going around preaching hatred against groups cannot achieve anything for Rivers people. It is only those who believe in truth, those who believe in justice. Those who are ready to work for justice and want to be part of justice can bring peace and that peace will bring progress and prosperity.
On behalf of all of us who are gathered here today I want to sincerely from the bottom of my heart thank each and every one of you. You have done well. You have kept the peace. You have kept the faith and you have moved mountains. You have done the impossible. In a democracy nobody can discount numbers as long as you have people you are strong. APC is strong in Rivers state because of all of you. I just want to thank you stay focused and stay committed and there will be registration of party members and that registration will not be commandeered or controlled by any force as it will be people driven and every member of our party will have an opportunity to register. Do not allow anybody to deceive you. This party belongs to all of us. This party belongs to all Nigerians. And as long as you have the numbers to pursue your aspiration there is hope for you in ALL PROGRESSIVE CONGRESS. Thank you very much and God Bless You.”