Shooting in Rivers as Magnus Abe-led APC faction cries foul

Gunshots greeted a protest held by the Senator Magnus Abe-led faction of the All Progressives Congress, on Wednesday, at the party’s secretariat in Port Harcourt.

The protesters alleged the faction loyal to presidential hopeful Rotimi Amaechi had excluded them from taking part in the election of delegates to the party’s oncoming national convention.

Part of their complaints was also that the Amaechi’s faction hijacked election materials for the purpose.

NAN reports that the police guards at the secretariat fired shots in the bid to disperse the crowd of protesters from the place.

It reports that political aspirants among the protesters said party had failed to convene a stakeholders meeting to harmonise the two groups.

An aspirant, Chukwu Olu, called on the National Working Committee of the party to ensure that the process of screening the aspirants was transparent.

Innocent Ajelu, who aspires to the State Assembly seat for Oyigbo Local Government Area, blamed the national working committee for not calling the two factions for reconciliation.

Mr Ajelu called on the national body to adopt direct primaries to enable the delegates to vote for the candidates of their choice.

“We have not been called for any stakeholders meeting; no aspirant list has been published, and we have not seen any delegate list,” he claimed.

“Our names are not there; we do not know what they are doing. So the national body should stop this crisis that is going on in this state.”

Chris Finebone, APC-Rivers publicity secretary, said the screening for the state Assembly aspirants, slated for 2:00 p.m., had nothing to do with the ward or state congress.

“We were supposed to hold a stakeholders meeting which will precede the screening by 2 p.m.

“The ward congress is not be held at the state secretariat, rather, it is holding at the various 319 wards in the state. The congress materials have been moved to all the wards,” he said