Rivers: Magnus Abe Dumps APC; Anambra: PDP’s Ozigbo Withdraws From Race, Calls Uba, NWC, Evil

By Adesina Soyooye

A Rivers State former Senator, Magnus Abe, has dumped the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Abe a former strong loyalist of the immediate past Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, is also a Governorship aspirant. In resigning from the APC, Senator Abe also dropped his Governorship aspiration under the Party. But he says he would pursue it under another Political Party yet to be named.

Abe was a close ally of Amaechi, and, with Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, stood solidly by him during Amaechi’s fight to sack his(Amaechi’s)cousin, Celestine Omehia, as Governor. Omehia had  replaced Amaechi after President Olusegun Obasanjo denied him the ticket to spite Amaechi’s Political godfather, Peter Odili.

When Amaechi, now a Presidential aspirant under the APC, inexplicably won the case at the Supreme Court, he appointed Abe the Secretary to the State Government, SSG. And Wike, his Chief of Staff.

When Amaechi dumped the PDP and declared for the APC, Abe followed him. But the two men have since fallen out, irretrievably.

Their quarrel cost the APC a slot in any elected office in 2019. The Party was disqualified from fielding any candidate.

The problem between the two men has since escalated. Abe had again, as he did in 2019, declared interest in the 2023 Governorship election. But Amaechi endorsed and picked Tonye Cole as he did in 2019.

Seeing no way out, Abe has now resigned from the APC.

Announcing his resignation from the Party on his behalf,  the Coordinator of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Support Vanguard, in the South-south, where Abe is a staunch member, Tony Okocha, said Abe is not dropping his Governorship aspiration and would announce the party from where he would prosecute it.

And in Anambra State, the nationwide disenchantment  dogging the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, continued.

In a letter dated May 25. 2O22, addressed to the National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, the Party’s Governorship candidate in 2019, Valentine Ozigbo,  withdrew from the Senatorial primary, describing Chief Chris Uba and the National Working Committee of the Party as evil.

Ozigbo; “I refuse to dignity the rot of the process by participating in Anambra South Senatorial Primary.  Evil comes in many colours. In PDP Anambra, its primary colour is Chris Uba. The secondary colours are in the National Working Committee of the Party that enabled him and his cohorts.”

A former Governor of the State, Peter Obi, resigned from the PDP on Friday, May 20, 2022.