In Rivers State, 13 All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants are currently backing the choice of Tonye Cole, an architect, as the party’s preferred aspirant for the 2023 gubernatorial race.
In a statement by the Coordinator of Progressives Aspirants Forum, George Tolofari, he claimed that 10 aspirants agreed and signed a unity accord to support any one of them that will emerge either by consensus or election at the primaries.
Three other aspirants from the Riverine-Ijaw extraction later indicated interest in the race after the press briefing making them 13 aspirants in all.
The statement continued that last week 19 APC leaders from Rivers State “met in Abuja with the 13 aspirants and unanimously adopted Arch.
Tonye Cole as a consensus candidate for the Riverine-Ijaw aspirants will be facing any other aspirant that may wish to contest the party primaries on the Platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The 3 new entrants who later joined the aspirants forum are Tele Bertram Ikuru, Tekena Iyagba and Larry Allison (who was unavoidably absent at yesterday’s meeting due to late notice) also stand by the communique signed by the Progressives Governorship Aspirants.
“I call on all party members to put all differences aside and see ourselves as one indivisible family. We are party people and what should be paramount to us all is winning all electable positions in the forthcoming general elections, God being our helper.
‘’I also make bold to say that the leaders who made the decision were not influenced by anyone but took the decision to ensure that everyone is taken along’’, the aspirants maintained.
Following the overwhelming interest shown by a cross section of Rivers people, Nigerians and particularly the media over an otherwise internal mechanism activated last Friday to pick a consensus aspirant of riverine extraction for the 2023 governorship election in Rivers by APC, it has become expedient and highly necessary to provide clarification to all. This is expected to clear all doubts and provide a clear summary of what happened.
Earlier, a statement by the State Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, stated that the leadership of Rivers chapter of APC consisting of 19 leaders chose a consensus aspirant of riverine extraction to contest the governorship primaries for the 2023 elections.
Fibebone states that the exercise took place in the absence of Transportation Minister, Chibuike Amaechi, who declined to participate in the process. After a thorough scrutiny of all the aspirants, Arc Tonye Cole was chosen as he scored the highest vote among the 12 aspirants that participated.
The party also declared that “no standard bearer to fly the Party’s governorship flag in Rivers State has emerged as yet as such can only happen in accordance with Party rules, regulations and the 2022 Electoral Act.”
Finebone averred that the party is still committed to its earlier position to support the emergence of a governor of riverine extraction after 24 years of upland governorship.
The statement enjoined all party faithful, to continue to go about their activities with decorum, and peacefully as the next four weeks, is bound to be busy and packed full with political activities.
