Rivers Crisis: Amaewhule, Others Can’t Return To PDP Through Backdoor-APC Chair

Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, Emeka Beke on Tuesday confirmed to TNN that the 27 members of the state house of assembly who defected from the PDP to the APC have become and will remain members of his party.

Saying that he was excited to have them in his party, Beke said having publicly left the PDP, it was too late for them to try to return to their former party through the back door.

Beke returned to his seat as chairman of the APC following a court ruling that sacked Chief Tony Okocha as chairman of the caretaker committee, even though Okocha has indicated the readiness to appeal the judgment.

Amaewhule and his fellow defectors had announced their decision to quit the PDP and in one of their meetings, displayed the APC flag, singing one of Tinubu’s songs, ‘on your mandate we shall stand.’

They even swore to an affidavit in court to confirm that they had actually left the PDP. But they were to recant and make efforts to return to the PDP when it dawned on them that they had goofed and risked losing their seats, as there was no crisis in the PDP as at the time of their defection.

On Tuesday, Beke affirmed that in truth, Amaewhule and the other defectors were his party members and even disclosed plans to hold a meeting with them, after meeting with the various ward chairmen of the party.