The Ogbobula Isaac-led Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has suspended Senator Magnus Abe, Igo Aguma, Livinstone Wechie and Worgu Boms.
Isaac, who made the declaration on Saturday in Port Harcourt also recommended their expulsion from the party accusing them of anti-party activities.
He also declared the expulsion of all the persons, who were inaugurated as caretaker committee leaders in wards and local government areas by Aguma.
More details later…
Former representative of Rivers South-East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe has condoled the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and the Amaechi’s family over the death of their father and Elder brother, Charles (Dede) Amaechi.
Abe, in a statement signed by his Spokesperson, Parry Saroh Benson described the demise of the deceased as a monumental loss, a vacuum that cannot be easily filled in the family of the Amaechis, Ubima, and indeed, Rivers State.
The Senator said, he was a friendly, jovial, sincere, and generous soul. His loss is a blow not just to the Amaechi’s family but the entire Rivers State as Dede was a friend without borders.
Abe called on the Honourable Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi to look unto God, who is the ultimate in all situations and circumstances.
“I wish to extend my sincere condolences to you and members of your family over the death of your elder brother, Dede.
It is painful and sad, I pray that God will grant the family strength to bear the loss and grant the soul of Dede eternal rest”.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reconstitution of the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), after the expiration of the term of the board members appointed in 2016.
Members of the new Board are: Mohammed Lawal (North West), Tajudeen Umar (North East), Adamu Mahmood Attah (North Central), Senator Magnus Abe (South South), Dr Stephen Dike (South East), and Chief Pius Akinyelure (South West).
Femi Adesina, President Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, in a statement on Saturday explained that the new board will be in place for three years.
Committee of Friends of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, the indefatigable crusader and Apostle of internal democracy in the All Progressives Congress (APC), have sent a message of congratulations to the Senator as he celebrates his 55th birthday.
The Committee of Friends, in a statement titled: ‘WE ARE PROUD TO ASSOCIATE WITH YOU, A PURIST,’ which was signed on its behalf by Chief Tony Okocha, described Senator Abe as a man who is able to hold strongly to his opinion to the conviction and acceptance of all.
The statement further stated: “Your disposition to politics of all inclusion, without bitterness and rancor has created a place for you in our hearts.
“We have taken a second look at the six points communiqué reached at ‘The Meeting’ in Port Harcourt two years ago and we are convinced to say, that it was the right decision.
“May the Almighty God keep you safe and sound in good health.”
The Supreme Court on Monday in Abuja struck out an appeal filed by Sen. Magnus Abe, challenging the primary election conducted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state.
Abe had prayed the court to make a pronouncement on the direct and indirect primary elections conducted by the APC for the nomination of its candidates for the 2019 general elections.
The apex court struck out the appeal on the grounds that the notice of appeal filed by the Senator was defective and not in compliance with the order of the court.
The acting Chief Justice, Ibrahim Muhammad held that the notice of appeal offended section 285 of the 1999 constitution.
Muhammad said amendment cannot be done to the notice of appeal in view of the fact that the 14 days required by the law to file the appeal had expired.
Abe had approached the court asking it to make clarification on which of the two primary elections was authentic in the eyes of the law.
However, the APC through its counsel, Mr Jibrin Okutekpa(SAN) objected to hearing of the appeal arguing that names of persons affected by the suit were not listed on the notice of the appeal.
Okutekpa said this made the appeal incompetent and incurably defective.
The court rejected the plea by Abe’s counsel, Henry Bello that the omission he erroneously made should not be visited on his client.
He added that the notice of appeal could not be refilled because the 14 days allowed by the law had expired.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) senator representing Rivers South East constituency, Magnus Abe, has accused a former governor of Rivers State and current Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi of humiliating him in presence of his family members.
The senator said Amaechi who doubles as the Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation humiliated him by telling him not to contest in the presence of his wife.
The Interview magazine reports that Abe said Amechi’s actions may hurt the party badly in the forthcoming elections.
He also accused Amaechi of running a one-man show.
Abe said, “My grievances with the transportation minister has nothing to do with him supporting me or not. I have told him clearly that he is free to support who he wants. My disagreement with him is that he said I should not run, and I said I would run.”
The lawmaker added, “To come to my house, call me in front of my wife and tell me not to try contesting was the height of it. I said no, I would not accept, I would contest.”
Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe has hailed the judgment of the Supreme Court which nullified the congresses of the party held on the 19, 20 and 21.
This is as Abe dismissed reports that he dumped the APC for the PDP as false, saying he will remain in the party and fight for justice.
Abe who spoke at a media briefing in Port Harcourt said it was some paid blogger who took it upon himself to flash it as breaking news without a credible source.
Abe said he joined the APC because he bought into the vision of the founding fathers that this will be a political gathering of people who will do the right things and trying to do things better.
The governorship hopeful said, “So I came here determined to live out that philosophy and I will continue to do so. I am in the APC and I believe that this is a vehicle designed for change in Nigeria”.
“No matter the challenges that may be on the way, I still believe that the integrity of the President which he has put forward as the main banner for our gathering in this party remains a signpost for what we must do in the APC”.
“So, I will stay in the APC and I will fight for justice because that is what this party is founded on,” Senator Abe explained.
On the Supreme Court Judgment which voided the congresses of the APC, he said going against a subsisting court order was clear senselessness.
“I am sure that you have all heard of the historic decision of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which affirmed the position of the High Court of Rivers State that the action of the party excluding members of this party from the process and depriving them of the constitutional right was wrong; and to do so in the face of a clear order of a court of competent jurisdiction is nothing but senselessness”.
“And so for anybody to continue to parade themselves either as a candidate of the APC arising from a process that has clearly been voided by the Court is nothing but political rascality of the highest order”.
“And I think it is time for right thinking members and leaders of this party to put this whole thing to an end and put the party in a frame to begin our hard-work towards the realization of our dream of taking over Rivers State”.
“Luckily the party conducted proper primaries here in Rivers State in the form of the direct primaries. And I believe that the proper thing to do is to do the right thing since the other primary was done in clear violation of an existing order of a Court of Competent Jurisdiction”.
The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described a High Court ruling that nullified primaries it conducted as a culmination of an evil collaboration.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the High Court presided over by Justice Chiwendu Worgu nullified the congresses that produced Transportation Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi-favoured Ojukaye Flag-Amachree-led executives from Ward, LGA and State levels.
The court ruled that all the congresses that conducted all the electoral positions in disobedient to court order is null and void, and consequently nullified the APC primaries for disobeying initial court order. By implication, the court declared that all primaries conducted by the Ojukaye-led executives are non-existent in law.
“We recall the many overt and covert partnerships between Governor Nyesom Wike and Senator Magnus Abe using the Rivers State Judiciary on this matter to scuttle the electoral fortunes of the APC in 2019.
“Today’s ruling is a culmination of such an evil collaboration. We state that today’s ruling did not come to us, as a party, by surprise.
“However, it brings to an end the collaboration between Senator Magnus Abe and Governor Nyesom Wike to destabilize the APC in Rivers State,” the party stated in a statement signed by Chris Finebone.
Finebone stated that nothing will happen to the Ojukaye-led State Executive Committee of the Party as it is further protected against any action from above by the perpetual injunction granted by Abuja High Court 14 presided over by His Lordship, Hon. Justice A. O. Musa on Tuesday, September 4, 2018.
According to him, Justice Musa granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the APC and the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole (1st and 2nd Defendants) from ‘tampering with the mandates of the elected officials/delegates elected at the 1st Defendant’s Ward, Local Government and State Congresses in Rivers State on May 19, 20 and 21, 2018 respectively, either by nullifying, removing or in any way refusing to give effect to the outcome of the said congresses or by purporting to conduct another congress in respect of Rivers State.
“We wish to inform APC members and sympathisers of our great party in Rivers State and across Nigeria to remain calm as we are well prepared in anticipation of today’s ruling and have therefore done the needful.
“Despite aspects of the matter which are already before the Court of Appeal and the Nigerian Supreme Court, the lower court went ahead to decide on a matter that is being challenged at higher courts of the land.
“Indeed, our legal team is already finalizing the paperwork to file an appeal on today’s judgment and stay of execution. There is absolutely no cause for alarm.
“It is also important to emphasize that the entire 319 Wards and 23 LGAs EXCOs of the Party are, by implication, protected against the ruling by any court of coordinate jurisdiction with the Abuja High Court that granted the Ojukaye-led State Exco a Perpetual Injunction before today. We urge everyone to go about their duties without let,” the statement read.
“We further note that the grand rally staged today by Senator Magnus Abe was carefully planned and scheduled by both the Senator and Gov. Nyesom Wike to coincide with the Rivers State High Court judgment details of which they were already privy to.
“It was therefore not surprising when Senator Abe gleefully announced the exact ruling of the court on the rally rostrum just about when the judge was still reading his judgment in court.
“Again, it must be mentioned that if the entire collaboration between Senator Abe and Governor Wike on this matter is to nullify actions the party has taken recently relating to its mandate by seeking to invalidate the Ojukaye-led EXCO, such an exercise has failed.
“For example, the primaries so far conducted in Rivers State were done by the national executives or national leadership of the APC and not essentially by the Ojukaye-led EXCO in Rivers State and seeking to invalidate the Ojukaye-led EXCO cannot in anyway invalidate the primaries.
“We are urging our supporters not to lose sleep as appeal have been entered and stay of execution on the matter have been entered,” the statement added.
![Commotion in Rivers as APC supporters invade, shut down court [video]](https://thenewsguru.ng/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/court3.jpg)
There wa commotion in Rivers State on Friday when hundreds of youths suspected to be loyalists of the All Progressives Congress (APC) faction loyal to the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, with the aid of the police shut down the Rivers State judiciary Friday morning.
The youths reportedly stormed the judiciary as early as 6.45am and locked the gates of the High Court Complex, beating up both lawyers and litigants who tried to gain access into the complex while the police who came in several vans watched.
The Chief Security Officer of the complex, Mr. Douglas, said that the youths locked the gates by 6.45am and beat up several persons.
According to TheNewsGuru’s findings, the move by the thugs was to forestall the court from sitting so that it would not grant an injunction sought by Senator Magnus Abe to stop the local government congress of the APC slated for Saturday.
Magnus Abe, senator representing Rivers south east, had gone to the court to seek an injunction restraining the faction under Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, from holding local government congress of the party on Saturday.
Abe had alleged that there was no congress across the 319 wards in the state but Amaechi said the exercise held peacefully.
The youths on arriving at the court premises padlocked the gates and chased the judges, lawyers and litigants away and laid siege to the complex.
However, the incident took a turn for the worse when another group of youths suspected to be members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and backed by another set of policemen stormed the place to open the gates.
Violence erupted as both set of youths attacked one other with bottles and other dangerous weapons and in the process destroyed some structures within the complex.
Video: Wike
Meanwhile, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, visited the court to inspect the havoc wreaked by the suspects.
A member of National Assembly, Sen. Magnus Abe, has denied allegations that his supporters were responsible for the attack on All Progressives Congress (APC) Secretariat on Friday in Port Harcourt.
Some persons suspected to be supporters of the senator allegedly attacked and vandalised property at the party’s secretariat in protest on allegations of high-handedness by the leadership of the party in the state.
But Abe told newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday that he had no link with the perpetrators of the attack.
“How can anybody just conclude that they were my supporters?
“It cannot be completely correct to say that those who attacked the party office are my supporters simply because we share similar sentiments,’’ he said.
Abe, however, admitted that some party supporters were aggrieved over the outcome of the just-concluded congress in the state.
“The high-handedness in the party is very obvious; many party faithful are not happy, the result is what we have just seen,’’ he said.
The senator claimed that he had never supported violence in politics and would not do so for any reason.
“Today, those who stood in support of the party a few years ago are now being labelled thugs; before now, they were agents of democracy.
“I am saying that we must enthrone internal democracy in our party; we must say `no’ to high-handedness and undemocratic tendencies,’’ he stated.