The former Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in Rivers State, Prince Favour Reuben, has accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of meddling in the affairs of the Action Peoples Party (APP), by selecting candidates from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to contest the forthcoming council elections in the state.....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
The governor, rumoured to be eyeing the party as the battle between him and Barr. Nyesom Wike has continued to dismiss the rumour, telling the BoT of the PDP led by Sen. Adolphus Wabara that he would remain in the party.
But Ruben, who spoke in Port Harcourt, claimed that Fubara, his Chief of Staff, Eddison Ehie are selecting candidates to contest under the platform of the APP, noting that their action amounts to anti-party activities, thereby undermining the integrity of the electoral process.
Reuben added that the candidates selected by the governor at Government House remain members of the PDP, having yet to formally resign from the party, stressing that their action contradicts the criticisms levelled by Fubara and his allies against the 27 PDP lawmakers who defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
“APP did not go through primaries, did not go through screening in RSIEC and we are asking RSIEC that the souls be disqualified,” the LP party chieftain said, adding that the official window for conducting primaries closed on September 5, 2024,
He called on the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to take a principled stand and disqualify the APP’s candidates, calling on RSIEC Chairman, Retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli, to ensure fairness and uphold the law.
“Today we discovered that APP which is not a political party in Rivers State – it’s just an association they brought on board – is selecting people in Government House to impose on Rivers people. The governor is involved, the chief of staff is involved, and all of the PDP are involved.
“The governor has told the world that he’s a member of PDP, and we wonder why the governor himself will be selecting APP in Government House to run a local government election.
“And that is an anti-party activity. None of them has the moral justification to question the operation of the 27 lawmakers because all of them are now in the same category,” he said.
Reuben also claimed that the APP failed to conduct primaries in compliance with the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) guidelines, urging the electoral body to disqualify the party’s candidates on legal grounds.
