A loyalist to the immediate past Minister of Transportation Tonye Cole has emerged the flag bearer of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) of Rivers State.
In the primary held on Thursday, Cole polled 986 votes to win the ticket by defeating Mr Ojukai Flagamakere, who placed second with 190 votes and Mr. Sukonte Davids who got 49 votes.
The Returning Officer Larry Ode declared Cole the winner and said that other contestants like Michael West got 43 votes, while Benald Miku got two votes and Senator Magnus Abe, one vote.
In his response, Cole thanked Rotimi Amaechi the former Minister of Transportation for believing in his capacity to take the state to a greater height.
Cole called on Senator Abe and other former aspirants to join hands and work with him to deliver Rivers to the APC at the 2023 general elections.
Earlier, it was reported that Abe announced his withdrawal from the contest through the South-South Coordinator of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Support Vanguard (BATS-V) Tony Okocha