President Bola Tinubu has been urged to appoint Senator Magnus Abe as a member of his cabinet.
The Coalition of Rivers State Leaders of Thoughts made the call in a statement made available to journalists.
The statement was jointly signed by the Convener of the coalition, Chief Sunnie Chukumele, and Secretary, Mr Josiah Onoriode, on Saturday in Abuja.
According to the group, the senator should not be discarded because he was responsible for building the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
The statement read in part: “We lend our voices and contribute to issues based on conviction. We also act as vanguards and engage in agenda setting, feedback, propagation and promotion of good governance.
“We have observed that Senator Magnus Ngei Abe has been suspiciously sidelined or pushed aside in the scheme of things in the political movement at the Presidential Villa.
“We want to put it on record that Sen. Abe single-handedly built the political structure to promote Tinubu’s presidential ambition in Rivers State. He was castigated and vilified by people of the state who supported PDP.
“We know it as of the truth that the faction of APC and all those sympathizers who followed Senator Abe into SDP for his gubernatorial ambition and election voted Tinubu for President.”
Going further, the group lamented what it described as the sudden switch of interest of former governor Nyesom Wike in the internal affairs of the APC.
They expressed dismay with Wike’s regular face at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, since Tinubu assumed office.
“We believe that appointing Senator Abe, whose profile is intimidating, into President Tinubu’s cabinet will also be a succour to the President’s original believers and followers in the state.
“We pray that Abe’s position as Tinubu’s first and main loyalist in Rivers should not be swapped or short-changed for another.
“Majority of Rivers people shall be glad to see Sen. Magnus Abe nominated by the President into the Federal Executive Council, which he is about to constitute,” the coalition added.
