Rivers Guber: ADC Candidate, Tonto Dike Step Down For APC’s Cole

The Rivers governorship candidate of the Africa Democratic Congress (ADC) Tonte Ibraye and his running mate, Tonto Dike, have adopted the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Tonye Cole for Saturday’s election..

Ibraye, who spoke in Port Harcourt, said they withdrew from the race to back Cole to present a stronger front capable of wresting power from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said the decision was only for the governorship poll and would not affect the House of Assembly elections.

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He called on the candidates of Accord Party, Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Action Alliance, Dawari George, and Labour Party, Beatrice Itubo, to toe a similar path in the interest of a better state.

Ibraye said the Rivers West Senatorial Zone had many governorship candidates, who should consider an alliance to take over power from the PDP.

He said: “If you look at the number of governorship candidate within that zone alone, I think we are up to seven and it is unacceptable.

“I did not even realise that the number is that much and so having realized that, I felt as an opposition, the battle before us is strong so the only way we can win this election is for us to come together.”

He added he and his running mate took the decision after due consultations.

He said: “I and my deputy looked beyond selfish interest in this decision. As a people we have made mistakes in the past and we need to correct them.

“Tonye Cole is not contesting for governor because he does not have a job, no. He has his own firm that has created a lot of employment. He is well travelled and exposed. He has managed his firm to international standard. His manifesto to Rivers people stands out.

“For us to win, we have to work with Cole to win. Today we are aligning our forces with Cole because we want to win this election. We are calling on Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Dawari George and Beatrice Itubo and others to queue behind the moving train.

“We are not talking about Ijaw or a Kalabari Governor, but a governor that will deliver development to the state. He is the unifying candidate of the opposition parties in Rivers.

“We are doing this so that at the end we will merge our experience and form a government of unity. We are solidly and unapologetically behind Tonye Cole.”

On his part, Cole said with the alliance, the APC would form the next government in the state.

Cole said: “ADC as a progressive party has taken that step and made a bold step to back the APC to produce the governor of the state. I commend Ibraye for the momentous Act. This shows that there is a desire to bring the state to place where the people matter and place of development.

“I accept the call to stand as a unifyer for the opposition parties. The ADC has pioneered this step forward to ensure that winning is a critical factor in the Saturday’s election.”

NATION