The chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Magnus Abe, on Tuesday said he will not support the party’s governorship candidate in Rivers State, Tonye Cole.
Abe, a former lawmaker that represented Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, is nursing the ambition of succeeding outgoing Governor Nyesom Wike under the APC.
“No I will not support Tonye Cole, I think that is clear to everybody,” Abe said during an interview on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm.
On his decision not to back Cole, he accused the Rivers APC candidate of not paying his dues as far as the oil-rich state is concerned.
Noting that Cole has no record of service in Rivers, the ex-lawmaker said there are corruption allegations against him.
Abe vowed that he can’t work for the victory of the party’s gubernatorial flagbearer in the 2023 general elections.
“I am not part of how he became a candidate, he has not been part of our party to my knowledge, and he didn’t contribute anything to the establishment of the party. He has no record of service to our state.
“There is an allegation that over $55 million of Rivers State Government money was transferred to him by Rotimi Amaechi in a government in which I served and I didn’t even know about it. So how will I now go and support such a person to now take over the Government of Rivers State?” he added.
Though Abe lost to Cole in the Rivers APC governorship primary on May 26, he is however confident of his name appearing on the ballot in next year’s governorship election.
This is even as he insisted that he will not pitch his tent with another political party in his bid to become governor of the state.
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