The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has defended its decision not to field candidates in Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Areas during the just-concluded council elections.
The Rivers APC also disclosed that it is calling on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to join the party.
Speaking to newsmen, the APC state Chairman, Tony Okocha, explained that the party lacks the capacity to compete with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in those three local government areas, stressing that the party’s decision was strategic.
According to him, presenting candidates in those local government areas would have amounted to “missing the point”, adding that the strategy eventually paid off.
Okocha said that “there’s what they call comparative advantage during elementary economics and even international law, alright.
“You don’t go and put your team in a place where you know that the answer to it will be failure.
“We didn’t have the strength to contend with the elections in Port Harcourt Local Government Area because again, the man who was the PDP candidate was a mayor, was chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government Council.
“And reports that reached us were that he did perform extremely well, and so that the people were going to pay him back.
“I told you that we’re contesting elections, not to test the waters. We were contesting elections to win; it’s our own strategy not to field candidates in the three local governments.
Read also:
- Gov. Oborevwori tasks APC members, Deltans on voter registration
- Lagos APC praises Tinubu’s vision for inclusive governance
- APC chieftain hails Rivers electorates for shunning LG polls
“It was a strategy. I mean, what are you fielding candidates for in Obio/Akpor for? APC, fielding candidates in Obio/Akpor?
“The sweeping effect of PDP. Don’t forget that PDP owns this state. Rivers State was a PDP state, alright.
“And then you go and make the mistake of wanting to field candidates because you want to field candidates.
“You’ll be missing the point. You’ll just be missing it. So, we allowed it to go. It was our calculated strategy, and it paid off for us.”
Responding to speculations that the APC candidates were originally members of the PDP, Okocha confirmed that the candidates had indeed defected to the APC.
Defending the defections, he argued that the PDP was in disarray and that it was a privilege for the APC to “harvest” its members.
He explained that most of the defections were carried out discreetly without media attention.
Okocha further said the party deliberately targeted politicians with proven track records, noting that even some long-standing APC members lost in the primaries.
On whether the APC intends to continue its efforts to recruit members of the Rivers State House of Assembly into the party, Okocha clarified that the party’s target is broader, extending to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike.
According to him, the APC’s ultimate goal is to take full control of Rivers State, adding that “the time is ripe. We’ll continue to be on them, not leaving them alone.
“We’ll continue to beckon on the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to come over to the APC and have peace. PDP is in tatters.”
