The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has explained why it deliberately refrained from fielding candidates in three local government areas during the just-concluded council elections, describing the decision as a calculated political strategy.
At a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Tony Okocha, a senior APC chieftain, said the party opted not to contest in Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt City, and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas because it lacked the capacity to challenge the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in those constituencies.
According to Okocha, presenting candidates in the three LGAs would have amounted to “missing the point.” He argued that the PDP’s stronghold in the areas, coupled with the popularity of some of its candidates, meant the APC had no comparative advantage.
“You don’t go and put your team in a place where you know the answer will be failure. We didn’t have the strength to contend with elections in Port Harcourt City because the PDP candidate was a sitting mayor who performed extremely well. It was our strategy not to field candidates in those LGAs, and it paid off,” Okocha explained.
Responding to claims that many APC candidates in the elections were originally members of the PDP, Okocha confirmed the defections but insisted they were a deliberate part of the party’s plan.
He described the PDP as being “in tatters” and said the APC had simply taken advantage of the situation to “harvest” members, many of whom defected quietly without public fanfare.
“Some of these receptions were covertly done for strategic reasons, and they have yielded dividends,” he said, adding that even long-serving APC members were displaced in the primaries as the party prioritised candidates with proven political track records.
Okocha further defended defections by referencing the political career of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who, he noted, had moved across several parties in pursuit of his ambitions.
Looking ahead, Okocha revealed that the APC’s recruitment drive in Rivers State extends beyond local politicians to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
“We will continue to beckon on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, to come over to the APC and have peace. PDP is in tatters,” he said, stressing that the party’s ultimate goal is to take full control of Rivers State.
