APC Presidential Campaign Groups Lambast Rivers APC’s Gov’ship Candidate, Tonye Cole
Rivers APC Leadership, particularly Pastor Tonye Cole led Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has been accused of not doing any campaigns to create awareness for the Tinubu\Shettima Presidential Project in Rivers State.
Two groups, Concerned APC Presidential Campaign Council and Independent Campaign Council (ICC) which had effectively taken control of Tinubu\Shettima campaigns in the state made the allegation at a press conference in Port Harcourt.
Speaking at the press conference, Chief Tony Okocha, a member of the Concerned APC Presidential Campaign Council said the efforts they had made so far to create awareness for the Presidential Candidate of the APC as regards the 2023 Presidential Election, was being threatened by the inactivity and disinterest of the leadership of APC in Rivers State, particularly the PCC Leadership under the Governorship Candidate, Pastor Tonye Cole.
Okocha said since the inauguration of the PCC in Rivers State, Tonye Cole had not called for meetings where at least, the thoughts, opinions and decisions of members would have been looked into and harmonized.
More worrisome to the former Chief of Staff Rivers State Government was that Tonye Cole, the Rivers PCC Coordinator had not done anything to canvass support for his Presidential Candidate, either by way of verbal communication, or sponsorship of radio programmes.
“Our Governorship Candidate in all his engagements has not found it convenient to mention, communicate, canvass support for his party’s Presidential Candidate.
By way of joining issues with us, we challenge the Governorship Candidate who is the Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) to show banners, posters, billboards where he shared with the Presidential Candidate..
We challenge the Governorship Candidate to show which Media outfits he has sponsored jingles, or publication whatsoever for the Presidential Candidate of the party,” Chief Okocha queried.
What according to him he had observed, was that, in the campaigns sponsored b y the APC in the State, the Governorship Candidate had carefully avoided the mention of the Presidential Candidate.
Rather than canvass support for Tinubu\Shettima Presidency, what the APC leaders were doing Okocha said, was to indulge in inanities like criticizing APC Governors that visited their brother Governor Wike to solicit support for Tinubu, asking that they should be sanctioned for anti party activity, requesting that monies paid out by the candidates of the party from Rivers State to the National purse be returned to the chapter coffers, etc.
Okocha assured that in spite of efforts of the leadership to stall Tinubu\Shettima Presidential campaign in the state, Tinubu will still win overwhelmingly in the state as a result of the huge awareness they had created.
He however, appealed to the APC National Leadership, particularly the Presidential Candidate to come to their aid.
On his part, the Coordinator of the Independent Campaign Council (ICC), Augustine Nwokocha said the council has kick-started its campaign activities in the state with the registration of different support groups across the 23 local government areas in the state.
According to him, they had registered over 51 support groups with a total number of Two Hundred and twenty four Thousand people going from door to door to canvass support for Tinubu\Shettima Presidency, stressing that if these numbers succeeded one hundred percent, they would have mobilized 2.4 Million votes for their candidates.
A member of the Contact and Mobilization of Directorate Tinubu\Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Martin Kpabari said they were ready to work for the victory of the party’s Presidential Candidate and appealed to the National leadership to render support to them.
