Cole also acknowledged that Amaechi has the right to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
By Kehinde Okeowo
All Progressive Congress (APC) 2023 governorship candidate in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, has confirmed that he will contest the gubernatorial election in the state again.
He made this known on Monday while appearing as a guest on a Channels Television programme.
According to him, while he desires to be governor of Rivers State, he is not working with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
He added that he has never sat with Wike to discuss Rivers politics or governance, saying that he is charting his own course in APC.
Speaking during the interview, he said, “I have never sat with Wike to discuss Rivers politics or governance.
“I am charting my own course in the APC, and that’s where I stand.”
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Cole maintained that, as the party’s last governorship flagbearer, he remains the legitimate leader of the APC in Rivers State “regardless of whether Wike is in the PDP, APC, or both”
On his political relationships, he said, “Rotimi Amaechi brought me into politics; that’s a fact nobody can change. He has the right to go where he wants to go, just as I have the right to choose my own path.”
The APC chieftain further said, “My immediate priority is stopping the August 30 local government elections in the state, which l and 21 other stakeholders have petitioned President Bola Tinubu to halt.”
He noted that the state has no lawfully constituted electoral commission, adding that it is yet to fulfill the 90-day notice required by law.
Cole went on to question the rush to hold the elections with the administrator’s six-month tenure set to expire in a month.
He further said he will run for governor again “because Rivers State should not be in the mess it is now”.
