Indications have emerged that all is not favourable with the leadership of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress as the party has balkanized into various splinter groups with Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi leading on the one side and Chief Davies Ibiamu Patricks Ikanya on the other side in tune with what is ongoing at the national office of the party where former governor of Lagos State, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Oyegun, Atiku Abubakar and Amaechi respectively are on different platforms, all for personal interests.
The chairmanship of Chief Davies Ikanya is reportedly suffering as a result of an alleged embezzlement of some election funds of the party which amounted to millions of naira.
Aside from the election funds, there are other funds which The Newswriter sources within the APC secretariat on Forces Avenue, old GRA, Port Harcourt, anonymously revealed are the reasons for the face-off between the state chairman, Davies Ikanya, Rotimi Amaechi and other leaders.
“The state chairman may not agree with you that there is a problem until he will be removed from that office perhaps for another Andoni man. He is facing challenges from the other stakeholders, they are not happy with him, not only on the election funds but there are other monies which he cannot account for. He could not deliver his local government for the party. Some items for the state from federal government become his personal belongings so the party is not happy with him. We are only watching them”, he lamented.
The Rotimi Amaechi led faction in the state APC according to our source has perfected plans to unseat the state chairman of the party, Davies Ikanya with a replacement from Andoni local government area since the gubernatorial candidate, Dakuku Peterside lost out in the election which would have given chances to another Senatorial District to produce the state chairman.
The Newswriter source within the APC secretariat revealed that what he described as “empty container, divide and rule politician may be considered for Chief Ikanya’s replacement.
Speaking further the source raised certain rhetoric questions on “why should another man be appointed to coordinate APC election in Andoni when the state chairman hails from there? Why was the funds for the March 19th re-run election entrusted to another man rather than the state chairman who is an indigene? “All these and others points to the fact that they want our state chairman, Ikanya out of the way for their candidate who is only few months in the party”, he noted.
On who coordinated the March 19th re-run election in Andoni, as well as the preferred state chairman of the party, the source said, Engr Sampson Ngerebara is Amaechi’s trusted fellow in the same LGA having defected to the party.
The Newswriter gathered that Engr. Sampson Ngerebara was used to co-ordinate Andoni APC election with a mandate by the party leader, Rotimi Amaechi to win that election for a smooth ride to the state chairmanship of the party occasioned on Ikanya’s failure to deliver Andoni for APC.
It was also gathered that, Ikanya is of the Alhaji Tinubu’s faction at the federal echelon of the party alongside the sentoral candidate of the party for the Rivers South East District, Senator Magnus Abe.
Recalled that Mr. Ngerebara left the PDP where he contested for the governorship of the state but lost out before the primaries, for the APC on the eve of the Supreme Court judgment that affirmed the validity of Chief Barr. Nyesom Wike as the duly and legitimate elected governor of the state.
The questions on the lips of APC supporters are suffice, if Ngerebara is given the state chairmanship of the party, what would happen to the party, has he the capacity to lead the party or drag it to an evil end? Will he not run the party to favour his political desire of becoming the party’s gubernatorial candidate in 2019?
The APC secretariat is busy working out modalities to ensure that such move to unseat its chairman for another Andoni son is nipped in the bud having known the individuals in the pictures.
Meanwhile, it was further revealed that the election of Magnus Abe may be hampered in the South East senatorial District due to the gravity of misunderstanding within the party, noting that APC is only camouflaging in the state as the Amaechi’s faction is strongly opposed to the Tinubu’s faction in the state which Magnus belongs.
Efforts by The Newswriter to reach out to the duo of Chief Ikanya and Ngerebara proved abortive as at the time of going to press. ###
