As a fallout of the Supreme Court judgment that resolved the contentious governorship election in Rivers State in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state on Wednesday requested a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari to address the party’s affairs and its political fortunes in the state.
A high-level delegation led by the APC governorship candidate Dr. Dakuku Peterside, made the request during a meeting with the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Peterside said: “It will interest you to know that many of our members, supporters and sympathisers are still at a loss to see us work as orphans. We have a herculean task explaining to them that we actually formed government at the centre. It is like we lost the elections.
“To an overwhelming majority of them, the only indication that we might be part of government at the federal level is because our leader and Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign which led to a people’s revolution that defeated the former ruling party and former Governor of the state, Hon. Chubuike Rotimi Amaechi is a minister.
“The concerns of our members are re-enforced by the fact that more than eight months after APC has formed government at the federal level, notable PDP chieftains and members who spent state resources to work assiduously against us (APC) are still occupying strategic federal government positions, dispensing patronages to PDP members to the disadvantage and chagrin of APC members.
Peterside reported that as a result of the unflinching support party leaders and members gave to President Buhari and the APC, they have been exposed to undue attacks and internal discriminations.
He said: “We were called all sorts of names including being branded as traitors and almost live like outcast in our communities and environments…Even today, we are not out of danger as we a killed, molested, maimed and insulted.”
Peterside also reported that security infrastructure that were skewed against the APC before and during the 2015 elections are still working against and frustrating the party activities in the state.
“The partisanship against us was and is still enormous.” he said.
The delegation, among others, requested the APC national leadership to assist in funding the forthcoming rerun elections in the state.
“The restructuring of the Presidential Amnesty Programme by making sure that the current leadership and managers of the programme understood the political connotation of its implementation; urgent replacement of all agents and heads of agencies that the immediate-past federal government administration used to frustrate the change revolution;
“Purge of vestiges of and sympathisers for the immediate-past federal government administration in the leadership of security agencies, especially in the Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
“That political appointments in all federal government ministries, departments and agencies including ambassadorial positions be made to reflect the current realities of a change of government.”
