A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze has described the recent outburst of the Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, against the Honourable Minister of Transportation, Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, as most unfortunate.
Eze, who reacted to the development in a statement issued and circulated in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, said the face-off between the duo is one of the darkest phases in the history of Rivers state, only second to the alleged imposition of Chief Nyesom Wike over Rivers state as governor and the attendant killing of hundreds of Rivers people to make that happen.
“This is most saddening, not only to Rivers state people, but close watchers of Rivers state politics and for Abe to describe Amaechi as one who doesn’t merit to be respected by anybody, after he had confessed to the world that he is the highest beneficiary and political investment of Amaechi, is, to say the least, as a fellow who out of his desperation is ready to destroy the foundation of the house he lives.
“For Abe to claim that Amaechi was not the person that recommended him to be appointed by Dr Peter Odili as Rivers state Commissioner of Information exposes Abe as the new version of the modern day Judas Iscariot.
“For Amaechi to now mean nothing to Abe, after he (Amaechi) appointed him the Secretary to Rivers State Government and sponsored him twice as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to the disadvantage of better qualified candidates, is to describe how despicable and wicked the human heart can be, just as postulated and captured more aptly in Jeremiah 17:9, ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?’
“It becomes laughable when Abe reduced himself to a mere militant, who can be recommended to bomb an INEC office by the Minister, knowing very well that Amaechi, throughout his eight years of golden rule in Rivers State, eliminated all forms of militancy and insecurity in Rivers State, so under what situation will he recommend a fellow he so respects and loves to go about bombing INEC offices. This is madness taken too far.
“Abe is fully aware, as contained in the Constitution of the APC that if anyone fails to participate in the primaries of the party, he can’t fly the flag of the party in any election. The High Court explicitly made this clear to him that he is not a candidate to the APC after failing to contest in the primaries of the party to elect those that will fly the flags of the party in the 2019 general elections. So if Abe knew that he can’t fly the flag of the party why is he so desperate to ensure that APC doesn’t have candidates for the 2019 elections”, Eze queried.
However, proffering an answer, Eze said “we all know the politics currently going on in Rivers state as it got nothing to do with Abe’s gubernatorial ambition, but how to ensure that Amaechi is destroyed and decimated without any political base to avoid him to be relevant in the politics of 2023, but what is most saddening is for Abe to allow himself to be used as a tool for this wicked plot against a man whose love for him is infectious. It is very unfortunate”.
He, however, expressed delight that his warning in the last two years about how Senator Abe and his cohorts had been working against the unity and future of the Rivers APC, adding that now the Minister of Transportation, Rivers people as well as the national secretariat of the party has started coming to terms with his revelations that Abe had been working all along for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Wike to frustrate the APC so that they can have a free ride at the polls.
“If some of these people had joined me all these while, Abe may have not succeeded to inflict the type of damage and pain he has inflicted on us all. All the signs to the motive and direction of Abe’s plots are very clear even to the blind. ‘If not me, nobody will fly the flag of APC in Rivers state'”, he said.
On why Abe should not fly the flag of APC, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze who is very close both to Abe and Amaechi proffered an answer saying “though, I have in some of my past releases explained why Abe couldn’t have flown the APC flag in Rivers State, for avoidance of doubt let me once again highlights some of the factors that worked against Abe’s governorship ambition:
“Abe and most of our great chieftains of APC that were lured to his side didn’t work for the actualisation of the gubernatorial success of Dr Dakuku Adol Petetside in the 2015 general elections and based on the fact, it would have been a mission impossible or rather suicidal to give the party’s flag to Abe as most likely the Peterside block of the party would not have supported him so the party had to look for a neutral person, which turned out to be Pastor Tonye Cole as the best choice, seeing he has no political bag in the State.
“The second factor was the factor of upland/riverine dictonomy in the politics of Rivers state. The upland section of the State through Dr Odili (8Years), Rt. Hon Dr Amaechi (8years) and Gov Wike (4years) have governed the State for 20years and for another upland man (Abe) to govern the state probably for another eight years simply demonstrates injustice and wickedness to the riverine section of the State. This is what Amaechi and APC have been fighting to correct, which Abe and his cohorts are kicking against.
“Besides these two factors, Abe aligned himself with those who want to destroy the political base of Amaechi because of envy of the successes that Amaechi has recorded above them. Take stock of all those who attended Abe’s so called Thanksgiving in Port Harcourt – Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker Dogara, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Governor Nyesom Wike, the Kano strong man, Senator Kwankwaso and others. Ask yourself, who are these people and where are they now politically? Show me your friends and I will tell you whom you are.
“Funny enough, after all that he did to destroy APC in Rivers state, he wants to be recognized and acknowledged in a rally like the Presidential rally in Port Harcourt. If he had been recognized it would have been the end of APC in Rivers state, but thanks to God that the national leadership of the party have come to know the danger he constitutes to the party.
“I know Abe and his type of politics in and out so he should try and leave Amaechi alone and find how he can rebuild his shattered dreams.
Finally, Eze reassured all and sundry that plots against Amaechi as in other plots will fall like pack of cards at the fullness of time.
“Let us counsel ourselves with Psalm 28:3, “Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts”, he said.
