The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has said the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, cannot stop members from seeking elective positions.
The party made the remark while reacting to report saying Amaechi made some changes to the leadership of the party in the state.
The party maintained that the Minister has not and will not stop nor even contemplate on preventing any member of the party from seeking any political office in the state.
A statement signed by the Chairman, APC in the state, Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, insisted that Amaechi cannot prevent people contesting because he is a true democrat who understands the rights of every party member.
Ikanya, who described the report as fake, stressed that there is no crisis in the party and that the members of the party’s executive are intact.
He explained that Amaechi, only made some changes within his own political team which does not affect the party’s structure in the state in anyway.
The statement reads:
“Our attention has been drawn to all the hullabaloo, fake news and mostly distorted, inaccurate and misleading reports in the media, especially in the social media about a non-existent crisis due to some purported changes in the leadership of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in Rivers State.
“This is not true, entirely false and misleading. For clarity, we wish to state categorically that:
“All members of the All Progressives Congress(APC) leadership in Rivers State are intact. From our ward officers to State party executives, no one has been removed or suspended from office.
“We are aware that our leader, the leader of the party in the state, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is making some changes in his personal political group, team or caucus in the State.
” It is his right and prerogative to make any leadership changes within his own political team, group or caucus. Amaechi created the caucus, team or group, appointed its members and leaders and so can make any changes he deems fit within this his personal group, team or caucus.
“But we must emphasize that these changes by the Honourable Minister of Transportation within his personal political team, group or caucus has absolutely nothing to do with the party leadership structure and does not affect the party leadership structures at all levels in the State.
“Contrary to fake wild speculations and deliberately misleading insinuations, no member of the party in the State is been stopped or prevented from having ambition or wanting to seek for any elective office. And we must reinstate here that no APC member will be stopped or prevented from seeking any elective office. We know for a fact that as a consummate democrat, our leader, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has not and will not stop, prevent or even attempt to discourage any party member from seeking any political office, elective or otherwise.
“For the purpose of clarity, we want to emphasize that as a truly democratic party, The APC in Rivers State will ensure a level-playing field for all its aspirants to any elective political office. In accordance with our party rules, regulations and constitution, we shall be fair to all aspirants and will always ensure that the process leading to the emergence of our candidates for all elective political offices is free, fair and credible.
“Sadly, this morning, we have seen or heard disparaging comments in the media attributed to less than a handful of party members on this issue.
“We suspect that they were misquoted or even didn’t say what were attributed to them. With the deluge of orchestrated false and fake stories about our party and our leader, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in some segments of the media today, we are constrained to believe that these comments are fake like the false and fake stories been peddled to the media by detractors about a non-existent crisis in the Rivers State chapter of the APC; and fake comments that are been deceitfully and misleadingly attributed to our leader, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
“Finally, we want to remind and appeal to all APC party members in Rivers State that we are just half way into 2017, and campaigns for the various 2019 elections are yet to commence. Therefore, this is the time to join hands, come together and work in harmony to build a stronger and better party that will defeat our opponents at the polls in 2019.”
