Rivers APC Crisis: Supreme Court Verdict Affords APC Opportunity To Put House In Order – Abe

File photo of a factional leader of APC, Senator Magnus Abe

A factional leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe, has reacted to the Supreme Court verdict which affirmed the sacking of the party’s ex-chairman chairman of the caretaker committee in the state, Igo Aguma.

Abe, who spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, said the decision of the court should afford the APC an opportunity to put its house in order.

The party’s chieftain, who represented southeast Senatorial District in the Eighth Assembly, said Aguma’s decision to dump the party is his personal choice.

“Chief Igo Aguma as you would recall became chairman by virtue of a court judgement when he tried to intervene in a crisis. He was actually a member of the Minister’s faction,” he said.

“He was not part of us originally so his leaving is a personal decision. Like everybody knows in this country, every adult is free to associate with whomever he wants to associate with. He took the decision of the court to mean that the party will not respond to the issues.

“But we took the decision of the court to see it as a fresh opportunity for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to put its house in order.”

According to Abe, his camp is willing to give peace a chance in the interest of the party in the state, noting that it is the responsible thing to do.

The ex-lawmaker also explained that his decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) a few years ago for the APC was as a result of impunity and injustice.

While noting that the APC is not a mere political party, he said the decision to form the party was an idea conceived in 2014 for a better Nigeria.

He, therefore, called on party members and supporters to make sacrifices to ensure that the better Nigeria becomes a reality.

On the decision to end the legal tussle rocking the Rivers APC, Abe insisted that it is an avenue for the party to consider some challenges and resolve them.

When asked if his decision would resolve the rift he has with the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, the APC chieftain said he has no rift with the ex-governor of Rivers State.

Abe’s remarks come two days after the Supreme Court dismissed the appeals filed by a former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, and the ex-caretaker committee chairman of the party in Rivers State, Igo Aguma over Mr. Aguma’s sack.

In a unanimous judgment, a five-man panel of the apex court upheld the December 29, 2020 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which set aside an earlier judgment of the high court of Rivers State.