President Buhari and the rulling party (APC) might have just found themselseves in trouble following the decamping of two APC senatores today in a space of an hour.
The lawmaker representing Rivers South-east district in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe, has reportedly left the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to reports, the lawmaker has joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Confirming this development, Political Commentator and former PDP Spokesperson, Deji Adeyanju wrote on his Facebook page;
“Senator Magnus Abe dumps APC for PDP. “
Magnus Ngei Abe born 24 May 1965 is a Nigerian politician who is the current senator for the Rivers South East constituency of Rivers State, Nigeria he was first elected to the Nigerian Senate in 2011 in the April 2011 Federal elections and again in a rerun poll in December 2016. In the 2015 general elections, he had lost a return bid to Mr. Nwogu before the poll, like others in Rivers, was invalidated by the court, necessitating a rerun poll.
Magnus Abe, who has had a long-running battle with the Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, had contested the gubernatorial primary of the APC. We had reported that the National Leaders of the APC had backed the indirect primary that produced Tonye Cole as the candidate of the party, to the chagrin of Senator Abe.
Abe entered politics in 1999 when he was elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly, serving as a Minority Leader. In 2003 he defected to the PDP, and from 2003 to 2007 he was Commissioner of Information in Rivers State in the administration of Governor Peter Odili. When Governor Chibuike Amaechi entered office in May 2007, Abe was appointed as Secretary to the State Government. He resigned to compete for the position of Senator for Rivers South East, but was then re-appointed as the Secretary to Rivers State Government.
In the April 2011 elections, Abe gained 154,218 votes, ahead of Dr. Nomate Toate Kpea of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) with 34,978 votes. Magnus Abe, senator representing Rivers south-east, says Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, has become bigger than the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Abe, who has been having a running battle with Amaechi, said this at a rally in Khana local government area of Rivers state, on Thursday. A governorship aspirant of the APC, he accused the leadership of the ruling party of giving special treatment to some members.
He vowed not to take part in the party’s governorship primary on Saturday if the APC does not conduct direct primary. The national working committee (NWC) of the APC adopted indirect primary in the state.
“People have said they will retire Senator Abe, send me home, where is home? Home is in the heart of my people and nobody can send me away from their heart,” he said.
“Every campaign of calumny, deceit must cease in Rivers state, this state must move forward. Today, I want to speak to the national leadership of our party, we continue to worship individuals in a party where we have said we are standing for change, we must have the courage to do that.
“I am my own man and nobody can make me do what is wrong. This country cannot go forward if we cannot find courage to do justice when it is time to do what is right. If we continue to be a nation where individuals are bigger than our rules, where individuals are bigger than our institution, the country can not go anywhere.
“We all belong to a party that promised Nigerian change and we had a meeting and said there would be direct primaries and the national chairman promised direct primaries anywhere there are issues that will make the outcome of the primaries legally contested and the first example he gave was Rivers state but as soon as they appointed Amaechi DG again and DG again, everything changed because the man has now become bigger than the party. I will not accept it. There has to be direct primaries here. I stand before you to assure you that nobody is bigger than this state.”
Abe also accused Amaechi of betraying the people of Ogoni, wondering why an Ogoni man has not become governor since the state was created.
“Today is the day of truth and today I want to tell Nigerians the truth. Every other senatorial district has produced a governor but our district has not,” he said.
“When it was the time of my brother, Chief Chibike Amaechi to be governor, it was the Ogoni chiefs led by the same Kinginiwa that they are abusing today, that went as a delegation to Governor Peter Odili to make a case for the Ikwere people,” he said.
“We did not stop there, we took a full page advert in Thisday newspapers then, paid for by the Ogoni people. Today, we want to be governor and people are making noise, who are those people? Sometime ago, the former governor of Rivers state, Chief Rotimi Amaechi invited the Ogoni people to the government house, not once or twice , we were all there.
He promised the Ogoni people that the reason we have not produced a governor is because we have not made enough noise, that because the world has not heard us, that is why the injustice being done to the Ogoni people have not been corrected, that next time its time for the governorship to come up, he will lead the campaign for Ogoni people, now is the time, where is he?
“He went back and called the Kalabari chiefs and told them the same thing he told the Ogoni people. I have told our Kalabari brothers to beware, if you want to go far you must travel together, to go fast you travel alone but if you want to go far, come and let us travel together.” 
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