PORT HARCOURT — The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has defended its decision not to present candidates in Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas during the just-concluded council elections, insisting the move was a strategic choice.
Speaking at a press conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, APC caretaker chairman in the state, Tony Okocha, said the party lacked the political strength to outmatch the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in those LGAs and deliberately opted out to avoid “wasting efforts.”
“You don’t put your team in a place where the outcome is already failure. We didn’t have the strength to contend in Port Harcourt City because the PDP candidate there was a performing council chairman who enjoyed massive goodwill,” Okocha said.
He stressed that the party’s strategy “paid off,” dismissing claims that APC only stayed away out of weakness.
Responding to speculation that some APC candidates were originally PDP members, Okocha confirmed the defections but defended them, saying the PDP was in disarray and the APC merely “harvested” strong politicians.
“PDP is in tatters, and their people are leaving in droves. We deliberately targeted politicians with track records. Even some of our long-standing members lost out in the primaries,” he explained.
Okocha also likened defections to Atiku Abubakar’s frequent party switches, arguing that crossing political platforms is a common phenomenon in Nigeria.
Looking ahead, he revealed that the Rivers APC is not only focused on strengthening its ranks in the state assembly but is also wooing the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
“The time is ripe. We’ll continue to beckon on the Minister of the FCT, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, to come over to APC and have peace. PDP is in tatters,” Okocha declared.
The APC, he added, remains determined to eventually take full control of Rivers State politics.
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