THE Rivers South-East representative in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe, on Thursday shunned the APC governorship primary in the state.
Abe was a frontline aspirant before the emergence of the member representing Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Mr. Dakuku Peterside.
Though no reason was given for Abe absence, sources said the senator, who had already picked a senatorial nomination form, might not be happy over the consensus arrangement that produced Peterside.
The governorship primary, which was held at the Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre in Port Harcourt, became a platform to formally endorse Peterside as the party’s candidate.
But the Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who spoke at the event, defended the choice of Peterside.
However, as soon as the governor announced Peterside as the governorship candidate, some aggrieved members of the party immediately left the hall, apparently to express their dissatisfaction with the process that produced the candidate.
Amaechi maintained that the decision to pick Peterside as the consensus candidate of the party was in the best interest of the people of the state.
He described Abe and the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odien Ajumogobia, as two Nigerians he held in high esteem.
He said, “The flag bearer, by God’s grace, is Dakuku Adolphus Peterside because we sat and agreed on that. That does not mean that my bosom friend, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, was not qualified. I respect his intellect.
“There are two Nigerians I respect their intellect. They are Senator Magnus Abe and Odein Ajumogobia. This is the time for that change. We will fight with everything we have to deliver the state to the APC. This is our opportunity to ensure we will not suffer any more. This is the time to vote for our party.”
With files from Punch newspapers
