Chief Tony Okocha, the caretaker committee chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has described the return of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe as that of "a valued asset".

Recall, early January 2024, Senator Magnus Abe who was the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in the 2023 general elections returned to APC. Abe, who left the party in the heat of 2023 politics, said he is back with the APC to enhance the good things President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing in the country.

Describing Abe as a co-founder of the APC in the state, Okocha stated that the former lawmaker served the state at several times as Minority Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Commissioner for Information and Secretary to the State Government.


However, his return has been met with intrigue and commendation as hailed by some as a strategic realignment and criticized by others as opportunistic, these have been reigniting discussions about his significance in the political landscape of the state.

While throwing his weight behind him, the leadership of the Rivers APC said Senator Abe co-founded the APC in the state and has been a prominent player in its evolution.

Chief Okocha lauded Senator Abe's contributions to the political history of Rivers State, citing his tenure as a vocal minority leader in the State House of Assembly and his subsequent roles as Commissioner of Information and Secretary to the State Government. Senator Abe's political trajectory, marked by accolades and awards, culminated in two terms in the Nigerian Senate, where he distinguished himself as a formidable force.

In a statement released today, Chief Okocha underscored Senator Abe's pivotal role in the mass exodus from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC in 2014, a seismic shift that reshaped the political landscape of Rivers State. Despite facing adversity, Senator Abe remained steadfast in his commitment to the APC's ideals, even risking the loss of his Senate seat.

Chief Okocha emphasized Senator Abe's strategic acumen and commitment to reconciliation, noting his decision to mend fences with fellow political stakeholders in the state. This gesture, hailed as a mark of statesmanship, signals Senator Abe's readiness to prioritize the collective good over personal grievances.

Acknowledging the skepticism surrounding Senator Abe's return, Chief Okocha reiterated the APC's warm reception of him, emphasizing his stature as a "valued asset" to both the party and the development of Rivers State.

He extended gratitude to Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike for his role in facilitating the reconciliation process, describing it as a testament to political maturity amidst prevailing tensions.

In conclusion, Chief Okocha called upon Senator Abe to leverage his experience and commitment to advance the APC's agenda and contribute to the progress of Rivers State. The statement, issued on May 4th, 2024, serves as a public affirmation of Senator Abe's significance in the unfolding political narrative of the state, reaffirming his status as a formidable figure to be reckoned with.



HIS FULL STATEMENT IS REPRODUCED BELOW


SENATOR MAGNUS ABE: A VALUED ASSET

I have read some puerile statements of some uninformed neophytes on the return of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe to the Party (All Progressives Congress), a party he co~founded in Rivers State, and his well considered decision to reconcile with other numero unos of Rivers State Politics. I have therefore, elected to lend my voice to the topical issue thusly.

1) Senator Abe is a full~blown and conscious and consenting adult. He is not a character to be led by the nose by anyone no matter how highly placed in Nigeria, Rivers State or anywhere else.

2) Senator Abe has been very conspicuous in the political history book of Rivers State. He had occupied positions of trust and responsibilities either as elected representative or appointed into very crucial offices in Rivers State at one time or the other, where he exuded capacity and intellectual confidence to the point of a role model.

In an Assembly dominated by the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) in 1999, Senator Magnus Abe of the All Peoples' Party (APP), was a vocal voice.

Many spectators made their way to the Assembly auditorium gallery, to listen to the upcoming cicero, who became the minority leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

He thrilled his fans with sound reasoning and erudition so much so that the rule of not clapping in the Assembly auditorium/gallery was sometimes unconsciously broken.

Being a thorn on the flesh of the ruling PDP, efforts were intensified to get him over to add value from the parlance of the ruling party rather than continue to rock the boat through profound opposition stance.
It paid off after the excruciating attempts.
.
Isn't it curious that a former minority leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly who was drafted into the ruling party, was assigned the portfolio of the Commissioner of information (Spokesperson of the Government of the State)?

3) Senator Magnus Abe served out meritoriously, winning several awards from National Union of Journalists and related bodies.
He graduated into the office of the Secretary to Rivers State Government and later elected into the Nigerian Senate twice.

4) Against the risk of being read as chronicling his biography, I will summarily say that Senator Magnus Abe is a house~hold name in Rivers State politics. Not even the naysayers will disagree with this proposition.

Senator Magnus Abe was one of the foremost PDP Senators who took the risk of porting into the newly formed APC Nigeria in the floor of the Senate .
He didn't mind if his seat was declared vacant.

At the home front, I confirm authoritatively as then Chief of Staff to Government, that Senator Magnus Abe was privy and pivotal to the massive drift from the PDP to APC in 2014 in Rivers State

It was a tsunami that jolted the PDP as the then Governor Amaechi, 2 out of the Elected Senators from Rivers State, 10 out of 13 House of Representatives members, 26 out of 32 members of the RSHA, 22/23 Chairmen of Councils, Cabinet members and other political appointees in the State, all decamped to the APC barefaced.

5) Who forgets in a hurry, the sagacious quotes of Senator Magnus Abe made while addressing the politically orchestrated annihilation attempts as then machinated against Rivers State by the Federal government?

Who forgets the College of Science and Technology, Rumuola episode, under the aegis of "Save Rivers Movement"?

Who recalls that powerful statement in the media from the then Commissioner of information, Mrs Ibim Seminatari, "Senator Magnus Abe took the snipper's bullet targeted at Governor Amaechi".

6) From the nascent stage of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Presidential ambition up to his emergence as the Presidential candidate of the APC in a tension ~soaked Primary election, Senator Magnus Abe was at the epicentre even in the innermost caucus.

It is true that the initial energy for Asiwaju waned not completely atrophied when he sojourned into a different Party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), in pursuit of his Gubernatorial ambition. This is not unusual.

7) As typical of Politicians who know their onions, Senator Magnus Abe doesn't support the politics of animosity and enmity. He is purpose ~driven and a result ~oriented strategist. He has, on his own volition, decided to return to the Party he sacrificed a lot and almost lost his life for.
It is most thoughtful, and very commendable.

That he also made himself available for reconciliations with his Political kit and kin in Nigeria and Rivers State, is smark of ingenuity.

9) Senator Magnus Abe is too smart a Political calculus, to know the direction of the pendulum. He chose reason evidenced in reconciliation with the winning team in Rivers State over ephemeral Greek gift that leads to Political perdition.

10) Senator Magnus Abe is a big shoe in the Politics of Rivers State (permit me to particularise).
No one should make mistakes to think to the contrary.

He is not a "feeding bottle" politician nor enthused with immediate material gains. He has the penchant and zest for a better Rivers State.

11) As the Chairman and leader of the APC Rivers, I welcome Senator Magnus Abe back to his Political family.
I reiterate that he is a valued asset to the Party and our dear Rivers State.

12) I thank the leader and Generalissimo of Politics in our present generation in Rivers State, His Excellency, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, for opening his flanks and chaperoning the processes of the reconciliation with one who he brilliantly referred to as "Brain box". This is indeed, a masterstroke at a time when grabbers and hawks prowl the Rivers State political space

13) To the doubting Thomases, I announce again that the APC Rivers has happily received back our own, to the fold.

We enjoin him to bring to the fore, his vast experience in Party building as well as his profound commitment to the growth and development of Rivers State.


Sir (Chief) Tony C. Okocha, KSC, DSSRS, JP.
Chairman, Caretaker Committee (CTC),
All Progressives Congress (APC),
Rivers State.

May 4th, 2024.

Politricks.
No permanent friends No permanent enemies but permanent interest.