The Rivers State Chairman of the Opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, has been told’ in an unambiguous terms to immediately reinstate the original unit executives and ward leaders across Andoni Local Government chapters of the party purportedly by sidelined him or face the’ music of the stakeholders.
Rivers State deputy governor, Engineer Tele Ikuru handed down this warning at a well attended stakeholders meeting of the LGA held at Chief Ikanya’s residence in Port Harcourt.
The meeting which was convened by the Local Government Area party Chairman, Ere Victor was inconclusive following a bold and massive staged walkout led by the visibly angry deputy, governor of the state, Engr. Tele Ikuru after listening to the grievances of the aggrieved and affected stakeholders. He issued a two condition warning to the state chairman of APC, Ikanya, to return the list of unit executives to its original status and also reinstate the original ward leaders to their area of responsibilities as well as return and effect payment of their Ten Thousand Naira each to avert the wrath of the stakeholders, and as a requisite for further coming together as a party.
The exit of the large crowd about 98% of attendants who are supporters of the deputy governor from the meeting eventually stalled further proceedings of that meeting leaving Andoni chapter of the APC at the mercy of the state deputy governor and if anything contrary to the specified conditions to reunite the party o.ccur, then the APC in Andoni is as good as gone.
Meanwhile the pro-deputy governor’s group averred that they are the majority as well as those who labored to keep the structure call APC today in Andoni, and would not allow the privileged few to superintend over them, positing that of the Ninety-six thousand (96,000) votes in Andoni, they are sure of giving the APC 75% of the total votes, hence cannot compromise their status with those having little or nothing to offer to the success of the APC in the LGA. According to the Chief of Staff, Andoni LGA and leader of ward 10, Hon. Jones Ogbuluija, they cannot labour for the success of the party and those he described as empty drums to benefit, and posits as worrisome a situation where the state party Chairman, Davies Ikanya who does not understand what it takes to build a party to appropriate the successes of others to himself while calling for the return of the party structure to the leader of.the party and deputy governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru.
Hear Him “The truth is that we cannot be labouring for others who are not doing anything to enjoy the fruit of our labour. A situation where we are those who foot the bill of this party, gather people at their various wards levels; a situation whereby the deputy governor attends to all issues of the party in Andoni, we are those who have gathered every body from the various wards, then the running of the party will be put in the hands of empty drums, people who do not have members, who have not been able to contribute anything to the party”.
“The state party chairman, Ikanya has not done anything for the party and the end of the day, he has succeeded in appointing people who are empty drums to run the party, it is not acceptable to us. We want the structure of the party to be returned to the leader of the party, the deputy governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru. As I speak to you now as leader of ward 10, all the ten (10) names per unit including the one from my unit are people I don’t know. Our position is that the original list be produced”.
Youth leader of ward 8, Gogo Ezekiel Silas who corroborated the position of the Chief of Staff, said such inhumane treatment constituted part of their decision to dump the PDP and posited that rather than been marginalized, the best option would be to retrace their way out.
It would be recalled that issues of changing of original lists of units, wards and LGA executives had marred the smooth conduct of the APC primaries in Andoni, and subsequent relocation of the primaries to the city council Port Harcourt when only Ikanya’s supporters converged for the purported rescheduled primaries, which led to the raising of alarm by the APC Progressives’ Vanguard last year. ###
