Tonye Cole, the consensus aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC has condemned the arrest and arraignment of Farah Dagogo.
Dagogo, a house of representatives member representing Degema-Bonny constituency was arrested on Thursday, arraigned in court on Friday and remanded in police custody.
Cole while calling for Dagogo’s release said he should not be victim of party politics.
He said: “In recent days, the political environment has been charged on multiple fronts as parties prepare for their primaries. Rivers State has often been labeled as violent and volatile but the path chosen by our party the All Progressives Congress (APC), has been one that has placed party unity, peace and equity above personal interest for the greater good and development of Rivers State.
“The adoption of consensus as the preferred mode of arriving at candidates to represent the party at the 2023 election has enriched the democratic experience by creating room for wide consultations as well as made space for deeper engagements with those aspirants who though well qualified, did not emerge as the consensus candidate.
“Since emerging as the consensus candidate, I have been relentless in engaging with all my brother aspirants and have secured the commitment from all but two to work together. I am confident we will all be aligned and united in due course and win power to govern the State in 2023.
“In the pursuit for equity, Rivers APC in particular determined to correct the imbalance of power by deliberately zoning the gubernatorial ticket to the Riverine Ijaws and in so doing further doused the tensions that otherwise may have arisen.
“For this reason, there has been no intimidation or arrest of APC members and the Kalabaris are witnesses to the sincerity of the APC in ensuring the next Governor of Rivers State is Kalabari. We therefore support the declaration of the Ijaw Wari Worldwide that Hon. Dr. Farah Dagogo should not be a victim of party politics aimed at denying a son of Kalabari his right to fairly and justly participate in the electoral process. He should therefore be released.
“The Rivers APC will continue to stand for building a society where no one is above the law but equity, peace and unity is paramount”.
