APC Crisis: Rivers Factions Clash As Worgu Boms Picked To Replace Giadom

The ongoing leadership crisis in the All Progressive Congress (APC) seems far from over, after a clash ensued in Rivers State between loyalists of Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and a former Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Magnus Abe.

The clash followed the recommendation of Worgu Boms, a former attorney-general of the state, as replacement for embattled Victor Giadom, APC national secretary on Saturday.

Giadom, based on a High Court ruling, had declared himself as the party’s Acting National Chairman, following the suspension of the national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole by the Court of Appeal which had set him against the APC National Working Committee (NWC) who named Senator Abiola Ajimobi as the party’s rightful Acting National Chairman.

The NWC claimed that Giadom’s position had been declared vacant when he resigned his position to contest the 2019 election as a running mate to the Rivers State governorship candidate, Tonye Cole.

Hilliard Eta, vice-chairman of the APC (south-south), acting in the stead of Senator Ajimobi had, at a media briefing in Abuja on Saturday, stated that the party had been seeking to replace Giadom and Boms’ name was sent by the South-South zone of the party.

“You are aware that on Friday, a competent court of jurisdiction declared Chief Victor Giadom as not being a member of the National Working Committee NWC and should never parade himself as such,” he said.

“Even before then, there was a resolution by the NWC asking the South-South zone of the party which I head to transmit a name for his replacement or filling of the vacancy made possible by his resignation to contest as deputy governorship candidate of our party in Rivers state.

“I want to announce to the world that I am in receipt of the name of a distinguished member of this party from Rivers state to the zone for ratification in the person of Worgus Boms Esq, a former attorney-general of Rivers state.

“His name has been transmitted to my good office and I want to announce that in the earliest time possible, the south-south zonal executive committee will meet and ratify that name and send his same to the NWC of our great party.”

The announcement led to supporters of Amaechi, and those of Abe to clashed Saturday over the proposed replacement of Giadom with Boms.

The Punch reports Abe’s faction said Boms’ nomination followed the NWC’s request while Amaechi’s faction described the move as a joke.

Livingstone Weche, the media adviser to the acting chairman of the state APC, Aguma, said, “The National Working Committee requested Rivers State to submit a replacement and we have done so and they have accepted it and made it public.”

But Amaechi’s faction kicked against Giadom’s replacement.

A former publicity secretary of the party in the state, Chris Finebone, said the position Boms was told to occupy was not vacant.

Finebone insisted that Giadom was now in charge of the party’s affairs at the national secretariat.

“Maybe this is arising from Igo Aguma that he has submitted a nomination to fill the position; it is a long way to that situation,” he said.

“First and foremost, you know that it is impostors that decided to declare the seat of Giadom vacant. There is a subsisting court order which has made him the acting chairman of the party and for that court decision to subsist, it means that he’s a member of the National Working Committee.

“They are simply joking because the position is not vacant. Chief Victor Giadom is still in that position; he is only an acting national chairman based on the order of the court.

“So before you begin to talk of replacement, that is a different ball game altogether and we cannot talk about it because those who claim that they have made his seat vacant are impostors.

“Somebody like Hilliard Eta and all others are impostors and is even not in the calculations. So, there is no basis for him to claim to lead the National Working Committee to question the authenticity of Victor Giadom.”

In his reaction, Giadom insisted that he cannot be replaced.

“That is the rascality we are trying to correct in this party. You cannot pick somebody from his house and make him a member of the National Working Committee of our party. There are processes,” he said.

“One is the issue of the order given by a High Court in Port Harcourt. I wouldn’t want to go into that because I know there is a subsisting court order from an Abuja High Court, a court of coordinate jurisdiction, affirming me as the acting national chairman. My coming in as acting chairman is to stop this kind of unconstitutionality.”