Rivers APC women leaders loyal to Senator Abe decry alleged persecution, marginalization by Amaechi’s group

The political rift between the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Senator Magnus Abe, representing the Rivers South East Senatorial District, is gradually eating deep into the political structure of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as women leaders loyal to Abe accuse those who pitched their tent with the Minister, of marginalisation, persecution, and intimidation.

Daily Times reliably gathered that the great divide manifested in Port Harcourt during a crucial meeting held on Saturday May 18, 2017 in which all the women leaders of the 23 local government areas, headed by Mrs. Caroline Nagbo, were scheduled to be in attendance.

It was gathered by sources which opted for anonymity that out of the 23 women leaders, only the 17 believed to be loyal to former Governor Amaechi were allowed into the venue of the meeting, which took place at the APC state secretariat at forces avenue, while the door was shut against all the seven from Senator Abe’s senatorial district made up of Khana, Gokana, Opobo Nkoro, Tai, Andoni, Eleme, and Oyigbo.

The source revealed that the women were deliberately excluded from the text messages inviting women leaders to the meeting except the woman leader from Andoni who later received a counter message asking her to ignore the invitation, that she was not meant to be invited.

One of the alleged marginalized leaders said that ideally, women leaders of all 23 local government areas of the state, their assistants and the women leaders of all 319 wards in the state were usually qualified to attend the Rivers State APC Women Leaders Meeting.

The seven women leaders excluded from the meeting, sensing marginalization and exclusion from the meeting said they had a right to attend, went to the venue of the meeting together, but were denied entry into the meeting venue because they were not formally invited through text messages.

It was alleged that the armed security personnel at the gate asked them to leave the vicinity.
The seven LGA women leader leaders were said to have resisted the armed guards, but that on pushing their way into the meeting venue, they discovered that only 17 canopies were erected with the names of each of the 23 local governments clearly written on the front of each.

The unrelenting seven women leaders were said to have approached Mrs. Nagbo, the state women leader who allegedly retorted: “You people are not part of this meeting.”

One of the LGA woman leaders who was also excluded who spoke to the Daily Times said: “Some of the women leaders told us that the order to exclude us from the state women meeting came from above.”

Another woman leader who was also barred from the meeting explained: “When we asked who gave the order from above, they merely said the leadership of the party. When we insisted they should give us the names of those who met and resolved to exclude us from the meeting, they repeated ‘order from above’. The seven of us that were not invited for the meeting are from the Rivers South East Senatorial District currently being represented by Senator Magnus Abe.

“What is playing out is an agenda to stop Senator Abe from contesting for the APC governorship primary for the 2019 governorship election. They think that by preventing us from attending the meeting they would cut off Abe’s primary constituency.

“In politics, you need to galvanise a groundswell of support from your primary constituency. Excluding us from the meeting was a deliberate move to whittle down Senator Abe’s support in the party. How can the interest of the Rivers South East Senatorial District be protected if we who represent them are shut out of the APC? she asked.

When contacted the Rivers State Chairman of the APC, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, stated: “You should know that as chairman of
the party I would not participate in a meeting of the state women leaders. So, your enquiries should be directed to the state woman leader of the party. Only State Woman Leader can speak on that meeting.
Daily Times also contacted the Publicity Secretary APC, Mr. Chris Finebone, who said he was not aware of the meeting or any form of marginalization of any APC woman leader.

Meanwhile all efforts to reach the APC women leader, Mrs. Nagbo, through the telephone failed as her phone was switched off for two days. A text message sent to her to get her side of the report was still not responded to as at press time.