Tonye Cole emerges APC governorship candidate for Rivers STate

The All Progressives Congress (APC) delegates for the Rivers governorship primary election have elected Mr Tonye Cole, a Lagos based billionaire as the 2019 governorship candidate of the party, TOPNAIJA.NG can confirm.

Tonye Cole is the preferred aspirant of the APC leader in the state, Rotimi Amaechi, who is the minister of transportation. Because of Mr Amaechi’s grip on the party structure in the state, Mr Cole looks good to win the APC governorship primary in the state.

Col. Lawal Isa (Rtd.), Chairman, APC Governorship Primary Election Committee for Rivers, announced that Cole, an oil mogul, secured 3,329 votes to defeat other aspirants.

Isa commended the delegates for the peaceful manner they conducted themselves during the voting at the Igboukwu Field in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

He stated that Dr. Dawari George secured 491 votes, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs secured 38 votes and Sen. Magnus Abe one vote.

He said that a total of 18 votes were declared invalid.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the APC National Secretariat approved indirect mode of Primary Election in Rivers.

Sen. Abe and Chief Lulu-Briggs were absent during the election. No agent represented the duo.

However, Abe organised a parallel primary, which returned him as the governorship candidate.

The result was announced by Dr Sam Eligwe, the Returning Officer for the faction at the secretariat controlled by the faction in Port Harcourt.

According to Eligwe, Abe won with 144,929 votes..

Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, who polled 3,444 votes, came a distant second while Dr. Dawari George scored 1606 and Dr Tonye Cole got 882 votes in the results announced.