Gunshots as Magnus Abe supporters protest in Rivers APC secretariat

Gunshots amid protests on Wednesday, May 18, 2022, rocked the All Progressives Congress secretariat along Woji Road, GRA, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during screening.

According to Punch, hundreds of the APC members loyal to a former federal lawmaker, Senator Magnus Abe, thronged the premises, alleging hijack of state assembly aspirants screening and ward/state delegate selection.

The aggrieved party members said they arrived at the secretariat around 6:00 am only to meet the gate under lock and key.

But, trouble started when some of the youths attempted to force open the gates which prompted the policemen stationed inside the party secretariat to shoot into the air.

Magnus Abe, a former senator representing Rivers south-east, declared his interest in contesting the governorship of his state in the 2023 general election.

Addressing his supporters at his declaration event, Abe said Rivers needs a candidate with integrity that can deliver.

In 2019, the Rivers APC was disqualified from nominating candidates for the governorship and state assemblies’ elections, owing to the leadership tussle in the party.

The crisis in the Rivers APC was mainly between factions loyal to Abe and Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation.

In March 2021, the faction loyal to Amaechi secured a victory in court when the supreme court affirmed the sack of Igo Aguma — a loyalist of Abe — as the caretaker committee chairman of Rivers APC.

In October 2021, Emeka Beke, an ally of Amaechi, emerged as the new party chairman in the state.

The Beke-led state executive for Rivers was inaugurated in February 2022.

Meanwhile, the recent developments in Rivers APC show that Abe will have to contest with Amaechi’s loyalists in a bid to clinch the party’s governorship ticket.

The APC governorship primaries are scheduled to hold in May 22, 2022.