The Rivers State Social Democratic Party flagbearer in the 2023 election, Senator Magnus Abe, has formally announced his return to the All Progressives Congress.
Abe jumped the APC ship for the SDP ahead of the 2023 polls to secure the party’s ticket to contest the governorship election.
However, after a stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Abe said he had dumped the SDP for his former party.
Abe added that he decided to join other ‘well-meaning Nigerians’ to throw their weight behind President Bola Tinubu, and to ensure that Rivers people benefit from the development at the centre.
According to him, “The new year offers a lot of opportunities and hopes for all Nigerians and indeed all Rivers people. My message has been consistent that we all need to come together; work together to be able to harvest these expectations for our people.
“So basically, I called my people here today to intimidate them of some of the ongoing issues and also to let them know that we are returning to the All Progressives Congress to join other well-meaning Nigerians to support the government of President Bola Tinubu. And to do our own best to also make sure that Rivers people are able to be part of the development at the centre and to also carry the state along in what we are doing.”
He said he and his team members didn’t return to the team because of of any individual.
“We are in the APC because we are founding members of this party and we are grassroots supporters of the President. It is proper that we are in the party to continue to give that full support to the President’s developmental agenda,” he explained.
He added, “My coming to the APC is to work together with other members of the party to ensure growth, inclusion, prosperity and progress for Rivers State and Rivers people.
“If we all have the same mind, we will be party to achieving that. So, I think that this is a new year and everybody who wants the APC to move forward in Rivers State need to realise that the APC cannot be a personal estate of anybody.
“We are all very strong characters. There is none of those people, myself, Rotimi Amaechi, Nyesom Wike and Tony Okocha that is a walk over. But you will also agree that if all of us must come together, there should not be any other force in Rivers State that can stop us.
“So, I believe that if we can find a common ground which we have all found in the APC definitely there is a space for everybody.”
In his reaction, the APC Caretaker Committee Chairman Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha, hailed Abe and described him as a founding member of the party.
He said, “In politics, it is the more, the merrier. I listened to one of his (Abe’s) conversations on air that he intends to return to the APC. We can’t stop him.”
