Rivers ADC crisis deepens as Ezekiel-Hart rejects primary, accuses Amaechi of imposition

By John Alechenu

ABUJA — The governorship primary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Rivers State has been thrown into turmoil after aspirant Allen Idaso Ezekiel-Hart rejected the outcome and accused former governor Rotimi Amaechi of imposing a candidate.

Ezekiel-Hart described the exercise as a “shambolic charade” and said it had produced three separate governorship “winners” within the same party.

“Right now, we have three governorship candidates in one party, all thanks to Amaechi’s high-handedness,” he told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.

He warned that the situation could plunge the opposition party into crisis ahead of the 2027 elections if the national leadership fails to intervene.

According to him, while the party’s timetable fixed May 23 for the primary, aspirants were informed late Friday that the exercise had been moved forward.

Ezekiel-Hart said he was mobilising supporters across the 23 local government areas when fellow aspirant Farah Dagogo informed him that a parallel process had already been conducted.

He accused the state party chairman, Chukwudi Dimkpa, of inviting only five aspirants loyal to Amaechi while excluding himself and Dagogo. The arrangement, he alleged, was designed to clear the path for Gabriel P. Thompson, whom he described as Amaechi’s preferred candidate.

He further alleged that three aspirants were persuaded to step down for Thompson in what he described as a disguised consensus arrangement, despite the party’s public stance against consensus.

Ezekiel-Hart claimed Dagogo later approached him to jointly resist Amaechi’s camp but asked him to publicly congratulate him as the winner.

“He told me to go on air and congratulate him, saying we are from Atiku Abubakar’s political family and should unite. I told him to stop rubbishing Atiku’s name. Atiku will not be part of this nonsense,” he said.

The aspirant said he rejected the offer and subsequently declared himself winner after Dagogo made a similar announcement.

“As it stands, Farah declared himself winner, Thompson was declared winner by the state exco, and I also declared myself winner. Three winners in one primary that never held. This cannot stand,” he said.

Ezekiel-Hart accused the Rivers ADC leadership of sidelining him despite being the only aspirant who formally notified the party in writing of his intention to contest.

He also faulted Amaechi for allegedly imposing candidates while demanding transparent presidential primaries at the national level.

“How can someone who is demanding transparent presidential primaries at the national level turn around and impose a governorship candidate in Rivers?” he queried.

He urged the ADC National Working Committee to nullify the exercise and either conduct a fresh primary or adopt a lawful consensus arrangement in line with the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“The most pragmatic thing now is for the NWC to order a rescheduled primary or quickly adopt a lawful consensus option. Time is running against us,” he said.

Ezekiel-Hart said he would pursue all grievances within the party’s constitution and warned Dagogo against invoking Atiku’s name to bolster his claim.

“We will exhaust every legal channel within the party. I will not rock the boat unnecessarily, but the party must recognise that I won the primaries,” he said.

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