Ogoni-born Magnus Abe served in the Senate, served as secretary to the Rivers State government, served as commissioner of information, and once a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly where he was minority leader. Many may not easily remember any of these high-sounding offices but would more easily signpost him as the man who singled-handedly stopped his party that had 50 percent chances of taking over the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC), from contesting at all. By this, his party lost the election to their rival, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), even before the elections began. He had secured a court order that stood up to the apex court in the land barring his party from fielding any single candidate. Today, his party with such brilliant chance has no single elected member from the local councils to governor.
He has tried to prove that he did not intend to kill his party but was only fighting for his right, but many APC members keep pelting him with stigmas, saying he worked with the Governor, Nyesom Wike, to stop the APC so as to deliver easy victory to the PDP. Those prosecuting this theory said Abe had reached a deal with Wike against 2023 (to make him governor). They later said Abe would share the cabinet positions with Wike.
The situation remained dicey until when it was time to appoint commissioners into Wike’s cabinet. The long delay by Wike to name his commissioners seemed to give room for speculations, one of which was that new alliances were creating issues in naming the cabinet. While the delay lasted, the APC wanted to conduct fresh congresses but Abe’s men went back to court to stop it. This raised fears that the faction was bent on wiping the party off the ground before moving over to the governor’s party.
At this same period, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is said to have friendly relationship with Abe’s brother, was handing out appointments and many said Abe was on the consideration list. It now appeared dangerous for his men to feature on Wike’s list at such a sensitive moment.
APC insiders argued that as long as Abe was in court against the APC, he would not decamp to any other party and thus would not have full chance to hold his party to the jocular. He would not convince the national leadership of his party that he was still in the family. On the other hand, continuing to be in court with his party would delay appointment of commissioners and take-off of the Wike cabinet.
When 13 commissioners were named first week in December, most persons rushed to know if Abe’s men were nominated. A neutral source in the party said Abe’s men were not there, saying those regarded as his men were mere Ogoni leaders who have been fighting for an Ogoni as governor.
An inquiry sent to Abe’s media aide, Parry Benson, did not get any response but a former lawmaker and close source in the Abe group however, told BDSUNDAY that no Abe’s men were appointed by Governor. He said: “Any of the Wike’s appointees is on his own. Sen. Magnus Abe has made it clear to his supporters that his 2019 ambition is over and every person should seek (for) something to do to keep his/her family going. He never nominated anybody for Governor Wike.”
This may be so, but signs seemed to emerge on the eve of the release of the list. During a burial ceremony, Abe commended Wike as a man of peace and pledged the support of his group to his administration instead of to those dividing the state. This statement went viral as a sign of decamping at last. When the list came out the next day, Abe’s antagonists went to town, accusing him of having a share in the Wike cabinet.
Amaechi strong backer, Eze Chukwuemeka, charges on
This chieftain of the APC in the state taunted Abe by asking Wike to appoint him as next information boss for defending the governor so well. He urged the National Reconciliation Committee of the APC as well as the Committee to be constituted by the South-South caucus not to waste their time discussing any reconciliation issue with Abe.
According to him, Abe has completed his task of destroying the APC in Rivers State and is set to move on, particularly now that Governor Wike has accommodated his nominees amongst the 13 commissioner-designates. He named them as Peter Meedeh and Bariere Thomas.
He further stated; “Now that Abe is beginning to reap his harvests bountifully from the PDP and Gov Wike on whose soil he toiled and sowed, I demand public apology from the former Senator, for all the public denials he has made against my position on his political fraternity with the opposition party in the state and other anti-party antics before, during and after the 2019 elections.
What Abe said; I have no hand in Wike’s appointments
His statement said: The attention of Senator Magnus Ngei Abe has been drawn to a recent publication making the rounds in the media entitled: ‘Abe’s men as Wike’s Commissioners’, written by Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, a publicist for the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and self-acclaimed chieftain of the APC.
Abe, in a statement by his spokesperson, Parry Saroh Benson, described the publication as a pack of embellished lies, designed to promote hate in the APC family. It’s nothing but hatred orchestrated by bitterness.
Senator Abe stated that to the best of his knowledge no member of the APC was nominated into Governor Wike’s cabinet. Eze’s lies are designed sorely to deceive innocent Nigerians as Rivers people who know these nominees know that there is absolutely no reason for Eze’s statement other than to pander to the delusions of his paymasters.
Reading through Eze’s statement, it is clear that Eze and his sponsors are trying to incite the national leadership of the APC and its members in Rivers State against a resolution of the sponsored crisis in Rivers APC.
The senator stated that well-meaning members of the APC in Rivers State must take a second look at Eze’s antics and begin to ask critical questions. Firstly, whose interest is Eze promoting at this point? Secondly, what exactly is his stake in Rivers APC? Thirdly, is Eze in any way affected by whatever befalls our State? He is not an indigene, neither is he resident in Rivers State.
A neighbour who continually brings petrol to pour on his neighbour’s burning house cannot be a good Neighbour. “It is time for Rivers’ APC members across every divide to disown Eze and his antics. A friend who is only happy when you are miserable: Who can only prosper when your house is in disarray cannot be a good friend. Eze is clearly a conflict entrepreneur who is profiting from the crisis in the APC in Rivers State.
Court strikes a blow
As the matters were raging, the federal high court threw out requests by Abe’s men seeking to stop the congresses again. The party began to jubiliate while Abe has not made a public statement yet.
Abe’s faction seems to be in the middle for too long; between the main APC group and the Wike PDP group. Each time Abe commended Governor Wike for one thing or the other, tongues will wag that he is about to decamp. Each time he takes out a case against the mainstream APC, tongues will wag, accusing him of trying to kill his party.
As the middle gets thinner by the day, people in the Amaechi group are getting appointments at the federal level while those in the PDP are getting appointments at home. It becomes difficult how long Abe can continue to keep his men in the middle without getting attention from either the Wike government or the Buhari government. It seems to be truly a tight rope.
Going into 2023, any step Abe takes would be controversial. If he gets closer to Wike, APC will shout that it is the reason he destroyed his party in 2019. If he keeps quiet, Wike may think he is becoming unfriendly. If he gets close to Amaechi again, they will shout that he would betray the leader again. If he keeps fighting Amaechi, they would tell the national leadership of the APC that Abe was still fighting the party against 2023. He already lost a chance to be senate president in 2019 and may still lose both ends in 2023.
Conclusion
Only Magnus Abe can decide which bitter pill to swallow going forward. The statement by Wike that he is not in any position to make anyone governor sounds ominous. It could be a decoy to reduce attention on Abe, it could also be a warning to Ogoni and Abe that what he thinks to be an island could turn out to be the back of a whale. When the whale shifts, hopes, aspirations and ambitions may crash into the whale’s belly.
A source advised Abe to leave both the APC and Wike’s PDP alone, form a party rallying all the over 50 small parties into one big party towards 2023. The source said many groups within both the PDP and APC would surely be angry soon and would find a third force fresh and better. That way, Abe’s party could be appealing to the masses and could pose a threat in 2023. That way, the source said, Abe could take his chance.
