Months after 'reconciliation' with Wike, top Rivers politician joins APC, details emerge

Magnus Abe, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 governorship elections in River state, has officially returned to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

As reported by The Nation on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, Abe, who left the party in the heat of 2023 politics, said he is back with the APC to enhance 'the good things' that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is doing in the country.

The former federal lawmaker promised to mobilise his teeming supporters for the party in the state, Vanguard newspaper also noted.

The development is a blow for the SDP considering the stature of the exiting politician. Legit.ng recalls that in May 2023, Tinubu, then-president-elect, settled the rift between Abe and Nyesom Wike, the current minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

At the time, Wike, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was Rivers governor.

Abe's political journey

Abe entered politics in 1999 when he was elected to the Rivers State House of assembly, serving as a minority leader.

In 2003, he defected to the PDP, and from 2003 to 2007 he was commissioner of information in Rivers State under the administration of Governor Peter Odili.

When Rotimi Amaechi entered office in May 2007, Abe was appointed as secretary to the state government. Senator Abe defected to the APC on January 29, 2014.

In 2019 he aspired to contest for the governorship of Rivers State but could not secure the party's nomination. He then gave the governorship seat a shot again in 2023.