There are fears among chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, that a former ally and friend of party leader, Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Dawari George who has just resigned from the party may switch allegiance to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and Governor Nyesom Wike.
George’s resignation from the party came a few days after another stalwart of the party and ally to Senator Magnus Abe, Golden Chioma, resigned from the party.
However, George’s resignation was said to have caused uncertainties and provoked anger in APC especially among the youths.
George was a commissioner for Youths and later Energy under the former administration of Governor Amaechi.
It was gathered the emergence of Tonye Cole as the APC governorship candidate and the inability of Amaechi to fulfill his promises to George, who had maintained his loyalty to the former Governor since 2015 led to his exit from the party.
The exiting party chief was reportedly fed up with what was alleged as Amaechi’s failures to reward loyalty.
A source, who spoke in confidence told a section of the media about the once strong friendship between George and Amaechi and described his exit from the party as a big loss.
“It is a big loss and more political bigwigs will also resign soon. After Amaechi chose Cole against the wishes of many party stalwarts, he made some promises to the aggrieved persons but could not fulfill them.
“He promised to recommend George, who has been loyal to him, for nomination as a Minister to replace him. But later he failed to fulfill that promise. Amaechi’s excuse was that since George is from the same Kalabari area with Cole, he could no longer be recommended for a ministerial position,” he said.
The source said George might realign with Governor, Nyesom Wike, in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the general elections.
“The truth is that there is no problem between Wike and George, they were good friends before Wike parted ways with Amaechi. It won’t be difficult for both of them to realign politically. The truth is that APC is in trouble,” he said.
George in his resignation letter said: “I wish to resign my membership of the All Progressive Congress (APC)
“May I also thank the leadership of the party and all her members for the opportunity and support given to serve the state and the country in different capacities during my time in the party.
“I will always cherish the friendship and brotherhood which enforced our camaraderie in the party Another chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Chief Dawari George, has dumped his political ally and former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi and the party.
The loss of George as a friend by Amaechi is bound to be painful for the former minister and governor especially given the reported determination to uproot Wike in the forthcoming General Election.
