By Pascal Ibe
Claim
Rivers State businessman politician Tonye Cole claimed that he was a two-time governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019 and 2023.
Verdict
His claim is MISLEADING. Tonye Cole was seen only on the ballot in 2023. In 2019, a court nullified both the direct and indirect primaries conducted by two factions of the APC, of which Cole was a member of one of them. He later emerged as campaign coordinator of the re-election of late President Muhammad Buhari the same year.
Full Text
Tonye Cole, while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Day programme on 12 September, said he has the responsibility of bringing all the APC members in Rivers together ahead of the 2027 elections.
He said he’s the current APC leader in the state, having “contested governorship election in 2019 and 2023”.
Cole claimed he is the APC leader in Rivers state in the absence of former governor and minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who recently defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Mr Cole, a wealthy businessman, resigned from the board of directors of Sahara Group of Companies in 2018 to join Rivers politics.
Verification
Findings by this Fact Checker have indicated that Tonye Cole was seen only on the ballot in 2023.
In 2019, a federal high court in Port Harcourt nullified both the direct and indirect primaries conducted by two factions of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.
The court, presided over by Kolawole Omotosho, also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising any candidates of the APC for the 2019 general elections in the state.
Two factions of the party had conducted parallel primaries that produced two sets of candidates.
While one faction, loyal to former Governor Rotimi Ameachi, produced Tonye Cole as its candidate, the other, loyal to serving senator, Magnus Abe, produced him as its own candidate.
The national secretariat of the APC, however, recognised Cole as the authentic candidate of the party. His name was forwarded to INEC.
In a suit filed by Abe, the court declared that the APC, for failing to respect the law, must bear the consequences of its disobedience to the law.
Justice Omotosho declared that both the direct and indirect primaries were held during the pendency of the suit at the Rivers State High Court.
According to the court, the APC conducted the indirect primaries in gross disrespect of the pending suit before the Rivers State High Court
INEC didn’t recognize him
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC effected the 2019 judgment of Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt by removing the logo of the APC and names of all its candidates for the National Assembly election from its documents in Rivers State.
APC in Rivers was nowhere to be found on the list of political parties and candidates participating in the governorship and National Assembly elections published by INEC in 2019.
The then INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers state, Obo Efangha said the Commission had to obey the court order.
After the Court judgement in 2019, a statement released by Cole’s media office, chose to address him, instead, as “The Coordinator of the campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari in Rivers State”.
It said the APC in Rivers State has not been outlawed by the courts from campaigning for President Muhammadu Buhari.
“What the courts have done is to place the aspirations of APC candidates in Rivers State on hold and we respect that.
Conclusion
Contrary to the claim that Cole contested in the 2019 Rivers governorship election, findings have shown that there’s no APC candidate in the state after the court judgment.
