Tonye Cole, who ran for governor of Rivers State in 2023 representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), has denied claims that he is connected to Nyesom Wike, who is in charge of the Federal Capital Territory, and emphasized that they are not collaborating.
Cole stated on Channels TV yesterday, “I have not met with Wike to talk about political matters or running Rivers.”
“I am making my own way within the APC, and that is my position,” he said.
Cole insisted that, as the last person from their party to run for governor, he is still the rightful head of the APC in Rivers State, “no matter if Wike is in the PDP, APC, or any other party.”
About his connections in politics, he stated, “Rotimi Amaechi was the one who got me involved in politics, and no one can deny that. He is free to go wherever he wants, just like I am free to choose my own direction.”
He clarified that his main focus right now is to stop the local elections planned for August 30 in the state, which he and 21 other people have asked President Bola Tinubu to put a stop to.
“The way things are being done is against the law and bad for democracy,” he said. “There is no official group in charge of elections, no warning given 90 days ahead of time, and there are ongoing court cases about whether the sole administrator is even legal. It doesn’t make sense.”
With the administrator’s time in office ending in a month, Cole wondered why they were in such a hurry to have the elections.
“Why can’t they just wait? Unless they are hiding something from us, like maybe they will extend his term, or maybe they are pushing the governor aside. Something is not right,” he mentioned.
He claimed that having elections when there is a valid government in place would keep the same errors from happening again that caused earlier elections to be canceled by the highest court.
About his goals for 2027, Cole announced, “I will try to become governor again because Rivers State should not be in the terrible condition it is in now. We are able to stop the decay and make the state what it should be.”
