The controversy over who gets the ministerial slot in Rivers State has continued to rage, with members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state now fighting some forces calling for the immediate past governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, to take over the party's leadership.
APC Publicity Secretary in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, who spoke when he appeared as a guest on Arise Television on Sunday, said the formation of the APC in the state took the lives of several people, adding that it is unfair to reward a man who piloted the affairs of the state when the party faced a lot of troubles.
According to him: "We wrote to the President officially, explaining the situations surrounding the APC in Rivers State and also the frolicking of some senior party members with the immediate past governor of our state.
"Now, let me say this: the danger of having someone [in our party] who superintended over Rivers State while countless members of our party were brutally killed is demeaning to us. We feel it is an insult, for persons who are not even members of our political party, to begin to call on the immediate past governor to come to take over our party or to be rewarded by our political party.
"We feel this is too disparaging for a party that has had a very checkered history right from 2014, and that the setting up of APC in Rivers State has taken the blood of innocent people."
He continued: "We cannot, as a political party in Rivers State, look the likes of the Adube family in the face, the likes of the Chisom Lenard family, and several other persons who were brutally killed for belonging to the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State.
"What are we going to tell them? So, for us, it's not just a question of morality. It's a question of whether our party is ready to set aside every known principle of self-respect. Is our party prepared to carry the burden of mocking and dancing on the graves of these innocent people?"
He also alleged that Wike has sponsored people to campaign on his behalf to join and lead the APC in Rivers State.
"If you've been following the trends of things in the recent weeks, where persons have been sponsored by the immediate past governor to come campaign on his behalf, because we know that they are clearly campaigning on his behalf, calling on him to come join the APC and come lead the APC,
"Is the APC lacking in leadership? The APC has leadership. The APC is a well-structured political party across the 319 political wards.
"And so, for any group or individuals to become overnight lobbyists on behalf of the immediate past governor is very, very prosperous," Nwauju said.
He further claimed that someone has been making ridiculous requests that the ministerial slot for Rivers State be given to Wike.
"And the person I'm referring to is the Chief of Staff to the former governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. One Mr Tony Okocha, who has been going all over the place, campaigning and calling on the immediate past governor to come take over our party structure.
"In fact, going into ridiculous levels of asking that the ministerial slot for Rivers State be given to the immediate past governor. Now, I ask, what happened to the several qualified members of our political party? Am I not qualified to be a minister of the Federal Republic?" he stated.
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