Gladys Nweke
The Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Magnus Abe, has expressed readiness to appear before the South-South Reconciliation Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola.
This is as he declared that the judgment delivered by Hon. Justice Chinwendu Nwogu of the Rivers State High Court, which nullified the Wards, Local Government and State Congresses of the APC in the State is now a subject matter of a legal battle in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
Abe, who is also the governorship candidate of the APC in Rivers State, spoke at an APC stakeholder meeting held at Tana Event Centre, Port Harcourt on Thursday.
According to him “The party issued a statement directing all those who have cases in court to withdraw them and setting up a Reconciliation Committee for each of the geopolitical zones of the country including the South-South Zone where we belong.
“That Reconciliation Committee I believe is headed by the Governor of Osun State, a very important person in the party.
“I want to appeal to everybody, we are loyal members of APC and if we are invited by the Committee to hear from us, I think that we should be very eager to take our case before the party.
“It will surprise you that a lot of people do not really know the problems with the party in Rivers State.
“We will continue to insist that the crisis in APC in Rivers State was totally unnecessary. It was uncalled for and there was absolutely no need for it. But people on their own to satisfy whatever ego drives men at every point in time created artificial disunity among members of the party.
“Now that the party has set up this committee, I feel that as loyal party members, it is our responsibility to go before the committee if we are called and actually let the party know what is happening in Rivers State APC.
Abe insisted that with the judgment of the Rivers State High Court, all processes that flowed from the nullified congresses of the party in the State, including the indirect primaries conducted by the APC in the state are all illegal.
He said “At the end of the day, I am happy to announce that judgment, in that case, was delivered in favour of the claimant and the congresses of the party held in Rivers State and all the things that flows from that congresses, including the indirect primaries that were held by the party was voided and set aside by that judgment.
“That judgment is now the subject matter of an intense legal battle at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt division and of the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court has already made a pronouncement validating the first order that made the congresses stands annulled. As far as those congresses were not legally held in Rivers State, is no longer in dispute.
“Secondly, despite the ongoing appeals, the judgment of the High Court delivered in the State is still valid.
“According to the constitution of Nigeria, everybody is obligated to obey the judgment of the court unless it is set aside by a superior court. So as it stands today, the judgment of the Rivers State High Court is the existing position of the party in the state
“In the light of that fact, therefore, the candidates of the party are those who were elected in the direct congresses that were held by members in the state in which over 148,000 members of the APC across Rivers State voted for me and for other candidates.
“We have approached the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt to declare us as the rightful candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State” Senator Abe said.
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