Action Peoples Party, APP, has called on the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to seek re-election on its platform in 2027, even as it said the governor neither owns the party nor is a member.
State Chairman of the party, Sunny Wokekoro, stated this when the immediate past leadership of the party led by Kenneth Atata paid him a solidarity visit at the party’s secretariat in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Saturday.
Wokekoro said the party would make a statement with the October 5 local government election, saying it is determined to change the narrative in the state.
While noting that he is a former member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, he, however, said the PDP is no longer a viable option for any politician who means well for the state or the country, pointing out that the country’s main opposition party has lost its relevance.
Wokekoro said, “I was a founding member of the PDP. I started by being a G-34 coordinator in Port Harcourt. I was a foundation member of that party. With the recent events in the country regarding the party’s administration, PDP is not supposed to house or to still retain any person who has morals. Any person who has integrity should have left that party by now.
“There is one impression I must have to correct in this gathering; the impression that Governor Fubara is a member of this party or that he owns it. This party has been in existence since 2017. It predates any of us who just joined it.”
The state chairman stressed that “no one can claim to be the owner of this party. The truth remains that as I speak to you today, Fubara is not a member of our party. However, a good party administrator goes out there looking for the best materials to field for elective positions. We are going to do that, not just me, but all of us are going to do that. We are going to persuade our governor to, if possible during his re-election, APP should be his platform.”
Wokekoro added that not only Fubara is enjoined to join the APP, but other well-meaning members of the State and National Houses of Assembly.
He urged party faithful to remain committed to propel APP to greater heights in the state and across the country.
In his remark, the APP National Chairman, Uchenna Nnadi, lauded Wokekoro for his role in bringing the party to the limelight in the state, noting that, “I want to commend the new leadership of Action Peoples Party in Rivers State led by Wokekoro. Within a short while, you have made us proud, and within a short while, our party is being recognised nationally.”
Our correspondent reports that speculations were rife that Fubara may defect to APP, following the alleged hijack of the PDP by his predecessor and estranged political godfather, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The speculation increased when a section of the secretariat of the APP along GRA axis of Port Harcourt was bombed, shattering doors, windows, and other property on Monday, August 12, 2023.
However, Fubara, while hosting PDP’s Board of Trustees, led by Adolphus Wabara, at the Government House, Port Harcourt debunked the speculated defection and pledged his membership to the PDP.
