Ahead of the forthcoming primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the various elective offices, there were already moves to build a critical mass of support for business mogul, Tonye Dele Cole to emerge as gubernatorial candidate of the party in the 2019 election.
This was sequel to the decision of the Minister of Transport and leader of the APC in Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi on Thursday, August 30, 2018 for Cole to be supported to emerge as flagbearer of the party.
He announced his decision to the leadership caucus of the party in Rivers State at a meeting he held with them in Abuja last week.
Tonye Patrick Cole, billionaire owner of Sahara Group, was born 1967 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to former managing director of Daily Times Newspaper and former Ambassador of Nigeria to Brazil, Patrick Dele Cole.
A board member for Atlas Mara, Bloomberg TV Africa, Enactus Nigeria, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, and Digital Jewels, Cole is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) and also the Private Sector Advisory Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Fund (UN SDG-F).
Cole, who is married with three adult children, won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Kingdom Oil and Gas Council in 2017.
Already, the 2015 governorship candidate of the APC and current Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside has stood down his gubernatorial ambition and declared support for Tonye Cole.
Peterside, who Kristina Reports learnt has been tipped to replace the Senator currently representing Rivers South-East, Magnus Abe, also asked his supporters to queue behind Cole to ensure his emergence.
Several chieftains and members of the party who spoke with Kristina Reports have expressed satisfaction with the decision as it would douse the seething tension in the party by taking out the two key contenders, Abe and Peterside from the equation.
A former Commissioner for Transport and leader of the APC in Bonny LGA, George Tolofari, 2015 Labour Party guber candidate in the state, Prince Tonye Princewill, and Chairman of Rivers APC Contact and Mobilization Committee, Beks Dagogo Jack, among others, have also thrown their weight behind Cole.
Meanwhile, a former guber aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who recently defected to the APC, Dumo Lulu Briggs has, however, announced he will meet Cole at the primary.
Kristina Reports reliably learned that all LGA leaders of the APC in the State have reportedly been charged with the task of mopping up support for the ‘anointed one’.
Snag, however, was the insistence of Lulu-Briggs to go ahead with his aspiration by contesting the primary against Cole. There were fears that his decision may embolden others to also come out to contest thus thinning down the chances of Cole clinching the ticket.
Another twist to the tale would be what Senator Magnus Abe has up his sleeves given the current state of things between him and Amaechi.
Informed sources within Abe’s camp revealed to Kristina Reports that some of the options open to him were to get a court order to stall the primary by the Ojukaye Flag-Amachree led executive, apologize to Amaechi and be allowed to contest the primary, or defect to the PDP and contest against Governor Nyesom Wike.
Another issue that may cause an implosion in the party is the indirect primary Rivers State would opt for to get its gubernatorial candidate. This is given the fact that more than 90 per cent of the delegates were loyal to Amaechi and probably served under him as Governor in one capacity or the other.
Amaechi told Kristina Reports that the party would abide by the decision of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in the conduct of the primaries for all positions and ensure level playing ground for all aspirants.
A chieftain of the party in the State, who preferred anonymity, hinted of fears that, like in 2015, those not comfortable with the decision on Cole may either clandestinely frustrate his chances at the primary and even at the polls or opt for a nonchalance approach to the process.
It remains to be seen what the development would be as it unfolds.
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