There was confusion in Government House at the weekend, when the supporters of the Deputy Governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru and the loyalists to the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Davies Ikanya exchanged hot blows.
The fight took place before the gubernatorial flagbearer of the party, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, during a meeting with the members of the factional groups led by the Deputy Governor and the party chairman.
The assertion by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the Andoni Local Government Area that the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC exists only on bill boards in the area or simply state, there is no APC in the area” is seemingly becoming factual without consulting any soothsayer, as recent events in the said party has demonstrated the claims of the ruling party suggesting an ambush against the state deputy governor and leader of that unpopular party in the local government.
The flexing of muscles on who leads the party at the local government level began immediately after the appointment of Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya as the state Party Chairman, who incidentally hails not only from same LGA but also the same ward with the state deputy governor, Tele Ikuru.
Since the structural system of the party were lifted from the PDP structures, one expected that the party leadership at the LGA level should unarguably be the right of the sate deputy governor who is the highest elected officer of the party from that LGA. But on the contrary the state chairman who the pro-deputy governor supporters accuse of fraternizing with the Labour Party gubernatorial candidate as well as plotting the failure of its candidates is not relenting in actualizing his dreams by ousting Tele Ikuru from the system.
The APC House of Assembly and House of Representatives Primaries in Andoni last December were greeted with uncertainties following the sudden change of the original delegates and executive lists.
Despite the alarm raised by the affected delegates and executives as well as the pro-Tele Ikuru’s supporters who without gain saying constitute majority of that party, the party’s echelon at the state led by the Rivers State outgoing governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, paid not only lip service but are adamant to the plights of the affected party stalwarts.
While the Pro-Ikanya aspirants claimed they won the party primaries, the Pro-Ikuru who are majority banked on its numerical strength to clinch final and approved lists of candidates for the party.
This, aggravated Chief Davies Ikanya mostly as he is not only acting the script of his master, Prince Tonye Princewill as alleged, but manifesting his claims that APC must not necessarily win in Andoni to clinch gubernatorial victory, when he refused to issue clearance certificate of the party to Dr. Romsan Dressman, the APC House of Assembly candidate.
Indeed, if APC is not functional on the bill boards in the area as posited by the ruling PDP, then its few membership is however engulf in a protracted double ill-health, which is difficult to either meet its cure or even death, what a dilemma in a party that professes change on the lips.
Despite the hierarchy’s lapses in resolving the pending issues in that party, the aftermath of it, has become more complex than imagined, an indication that apparently concord the claims of the ruling PDP.
It was Wednesday February 25th, 2015 that the Rivers State Deputy Governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru led a staged walkout from a well attended stakeholders committee meeting of the APC.
The incident however, sent dangerous signals to the party’s existence in Andoni, when the deputy governor maintained that unless the anomalies are corrected, there would be no more meeting as a party.
The supposed intervention of the party’s governorship candidate Dakuku Peteside, who appealed to the mammoth pro-deputy governor’s supporters to Sheathe their swords, promised to settle the crisis is evidently yielding no positive results, since after two weeks of grace the party was unable to address the crisis rocking the Andoni APC.
Meanwhile, the Pro-Tele Ikuru’s supporters are accusing the party’s candidate, Dakuku Peterside and Governor Chibuike Amaechi of conniving with the minority, Chief Ikanya led group to ambush the deputy governor and APC victory in the area.
Justifying the allegation of connivance, the APC campaign organization under the watch of Dakuku Peterside other than resolving the lingering crisis in Andoni APC, scheduled a word to word campaign visit to the area on Wednesday March 11th, 2015, with a proposed tour of Dema City, Ngo Town, Ikuru Town, Ataba kingdom and others.
But in a total show of supremacy and control of the party at the LGA, the gubernatorial candidate of APC, Dakuku Peterside met empty chairs and canopies during his visit to Dema City, Ikuru Town and Ataba following the deputy governor’s successful boycott of the said campaign rally.
On Wednesday, March 11, 2015 the Pro-deputy governor’s supporters proceeded on a street protest in Port Harcourt to the NUJ Press Centre where they addressed the media on the highhandedness of the APC state chairman, Chief Davies Ibiamu Ikanya.
The protest which assembled over 2,5000 supporters at the deputy governor’s official residence drawn at least 200 supporters from each of the respective 11 wards of Andoni, a situation that frustrated Dakuku’s planned campaign that day.
At Ikuru town on Wednesday 11th March, it was gathered that hired supporters and non-indigenes from a fishing settlements were abandoned to their fate for the torture of hunger, thirst and what have you. In all the areas visited the responses are better watched than heard even as the train went to Ataba kingdom at about 8:15pm with no fewer than 15 people. And the question is what would an aspirant want when visiting a community at such an hour?
The boycott of the LGA ward to ward campaign however, moved Dakuku to hurriedly schedule a meeting of the warring parties in Government House to address the issues, on Friday 13th March, 2015 but without positive result.
However, with the failure of the meeting to achieved successes, a committee headed by Hon. Alwell Onyesoh was constituted to look into the matter.
It is at this level of the party’s failure to give the Andoni issues a name that it becomes obvious to view Governor Chibuike Amaechi, Dakuku Peterside and others at the echelon of the party as plotting or orchestrating plans to frustrating Engr. Tele’s leadership in the area.
Now that the general election is few days ahead and the Andoni chapter of APC is irredeemably engulfed in crisis, it is believed that the Ikanya’s claims of APC not necessarily winning the area to enhance it the victory it deserves is playing out.
Little wonder, the pro-deputy governor’s supporters lamented they cannot sit back to watch and allow the state chairman act the script of his Godfather, Prince Tonye Princewill, saying they will not forgive Chief Ikanya if APC fails the coming election in the area.
The Alwell Onyesoh’s led committee like the Dakuku led Peace Meeting is said to act in consonance with the order and command of Dakuku, therefore, the people had lost confidence in that committee, a source said.
While the Pro-Ikuru’s supporters had lost confidence in the purported committee, the question on their lips is, if Dakuku who presided over the meeting at Government House was unable to decide the issues now before the election, of what benefit and hope would the Onyesoh’s Committee be after the election?
The people suspected a foul play and antics to overrun them in the party, hence call on all to be alert. ###
