Rivers APC crisis worsens as Amaechi, others fight over party structure

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is enmeshed in crisis as two factions are laying claims to the party’s leadership.

The party was torn into two warring factions led by Chief Tony Okocha, the South-South Coordinator of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Vanguard and a former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi prior to the February 25 presidential and March 18 elections.

After the elections, Okocha and some chieftains of the party in the state accused Amaechi of anti-party activities, an allegation he rebuffed.

As the crisis festered, the State Executive Committee of the party on Wednesday suspended the party’s Chairman, Chief Emeka Beke and the legal adviser, Iheanyichukwu Azubuike over alleged anti-party activities and financial misconduct.

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Chike Eyindah, a member of the State Executive Committee who led other members of party to a press conference in Port Harcourt said, “These leaders have been responsible for the mass exodus of members of the party as well as the failures experienced by the party in the just concluded general elections in the state.”

A pressure group in the APC, ‘the Upper Echelon’ has called on the national leadership of the party to dissolve Rivers State chapter of the party.

The leader of the group, Lucky Ottos who led other members of the group to a press conference, called on INEC to remain neutral and allow both PDP and APC to jointly inspect the materials used in the March 18 governorship election in the state.

The media aide to the former governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Chukwuwemeka Eze, said Amaechi remains the leader of the party in Rivers State.

He absolved the former minister of transportation of any wrongdoing and called on members of the public to ignore those claiming the leadership of the party in the state.

But in a statement, the APC’s Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, said those laying claims to the leadership of the party are hatchet men doing the bidding of their pay masters from another political party.