Port Harcourt, Rivers state – To some, the Action Peoples Party (APP) is the surprise party of the just-concluded Rivers local government (LG) election as it won 22 of 23 chairmanship positions in the poll.
Naturenex had reported that Adolphus Enebeli, the chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), announced the results of the elections on Saturday, October 5, in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.
Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers, had recently directed his loyalists to defect to the APP to contest the election. This came against the backdrop of his lingering feud with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the current minister of the federal capital territory (FCT). Fubara also has issues with Wike’s loyalists who were members of his (Fubara’s) party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Amid the crisis, the PDP, and another major party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), were both floored in the Rivers LG polls on Saturday, October 5.
Led by Barrister Uche Nnadi, the APP is one of the not-too-prominent political parties in Nigeria. It has elephant as its emblem which symbolises power, resilience, and the ability to overcome obstacles.
Naturenex highlights five interesting facts about the APP.
1) APP collapsed structure for Atiku in 2023
Although, the APP was one of the 18 political parties that were given the greenlight by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest in the 2023 presidential election, a week to the poll, the party joined four other parties in collapsing their structures into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Subsequently, the APP threw its weight behind the PDP flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar. In the end, Atiku ran unsuccessfully for president, scoring 6,984,520 votes to emerge second behind the current president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
2) Popular lawmaker is APP’s ex-national chairman
In November 2020, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, a well-known member of the house of representatives representing Ideato North and South federal constituency of Imo state, relinquished his position as APP national chairman.
Ugochinyere joined the PDP afterwards, going on to become a national assembly member.
Notably, Ugochinyere waded into the goings–on in Rivers state on Saturday, October 5.
In a social media post, Ugochinyere criticised those he alleged wanted to scuttle the Rivers LG election.
He wrote on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle:
“Do you know elections are going on today in Benue state where the governor and SGF have issues; in Jigawa state and Akwa Ibom state where the senate president hails from? But, we are hearing about Rivers state because of the greed and political recklessness of one man aided by few judicial and security officers who have abandoned their oath of office.
“Going forward, we must keep our eyes on every move they make and scrutinise it very well. Enough is enough.”
3) APP intends to create Abuja state
According to the constitution of the APP, the party has 13 objectives. Some of its goals are listed below:
Creation of Abuja state.
National healing and reconciliation with the announcement of results of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
Reservation of 40 percent of all elective and appointive positions for the women and youths.
4) APP ready to work with other countries
Furthermore, in its constitution, the APP said setting aside national sovereignty when neccesary, it “will work with other countries, especially African countries and other world powers towards an equitable and peaceful international order and a durable system of common security”.
It vowed to contribute to the process of global peace.
5) APP slogan
Slogans and catchphrases are used by politicians, political parties, militaries, activists, and protestors to express or encourage particular beliefs.
These slogans burn into people’s memories and help represent the candidates and their campaigns in electorate’s minds.
The slogan of the APP is ‘Strong economy; united Nigeria; with a rider: A new Nigeria is possible’.
