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The crisis in the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a new dimension as the peace meeting for the standard bearer of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu presidential campaign council (PCC) and the Independent Campaign Council (ICC), ended in deadlock on Friday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.
The meeting which was the first at the behest of the APC governorship candidate, Tonye Cole failed to achieve any result following a sharp disagreement over issues of interest within the party which includes lack of proper consultation, cohesion among others.
It was gathered that Tonye Cole who called for the meeting failed to show up on the grounds of alleged ill health and sent Rt. Hon Sekonte Davies, a former member of the House of Representatives and former Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Nigeria Ports Authority to preside over the meeting.
Dr. Sekonte was also the first and only Director, Finance and Administration of APC Buhari Presidential Campaign Organisation.
Besides the appointment of non-members of the PCC and ICC as chairmen of the seven committees Cole set up from his campaign council, Sekonte “is neither a member of the PCC nor ICC”, hence, the walkout from the meeting.
Chief Tonye Okocha whose group staged the walkout said in a chat with Daily Independent that as a governorship candidate of the party in the state, Tonye Cole has never called for a meeting of the PCC and ICC where he would have acquainted himself with the authentic members of the two groups.
“The meeting on Friday was for the PCC and the ICC members. Unfortunately, when we got there, the people we saw were not PCC or ICC members. We discovered also that the seven committees that he (Tonye Cole) set up, I am the only person that he made chairman of the civil society organizations, from this other side.
“He called for the meeting and could not attend on grounds that he was not feeling too fine. Sekonte cannot preside over a meeting that he is not a member. That is what explained our walkout. We have moved on and we are planning seriously for the Tinubu/Shettima campaign rally on February 15”.
