•As Senator MAGNUS NGEI ABE Replies Chief EZE
Rivers APC has continued to witness a verbal war of words among the major players and their surrogates. For a very long time, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe has remained silent. The same thing is being attributed to the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the serving Minister of Transportation. But last week, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe took to several platforms of Social Media in responding for the first time. City People Magazine Port Harcourt Bureau Chief, Emeka Amaefula (+2348111813069) relays what Senator Magnus Abe told Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze as below
“My attention has been drawn to another rowdy article written by one Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, a self-styled chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, titled, “Rivers Guber: Forget About Ruling Rivers State, Eze tells Abe”.
Ordinarily, Nigerians have noticed that for years I have ignored Chukwuemeka Eze, choosing to respond only to issues raised directly by his paymaster, the Rt. Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
After all, everyone knows that Chief Eze is a latecomer to Rivers politics. As Atiku’s publicity consultant he was hired and brought to Rivers State by Prince Tonye Princewill, therefore, his knowledge of the recent political history of Rivers State is nothing but hearsay, limited strictly to his paymaster’s interpretation of events.
The only reason I have decided to respond to Eze this time is because of the aspersions he hauled on the character and integrity of Senator Wilson Asinobi Ake.
It is unfortunate that Rotimi Amaechi can hire Chukwuemeka Eze who has no voting unit in Rivers State to publicly insult a leader like Senator Ake (a man who has five times been elected by his people to the National Assembly ) and who was one of those who led the walkout from the Eagle Square that resulted in the establishment of the APC as a national party.
Nigerians are used to Chief Eze’s diatribes against me and therefore his focus on Magnus Abe and my Governorship ambition in his rantings is nothing but a reflection of his paymaster’s interpretation of the issues in the party in Rivers State.
Being a latecomer and outsider to the politics of Rivers State, Eze has no first-hand knowledge of the facts material to his story and citing dubious Bible verses to back up lies will not change them to the truth. He was not physically present at any of the meetings leading up to the events he seeks to describe and he was not in Rivers State at the time neither was he a party to any of the intrigues that led to the emergence of the Amaechi Governorship.
In his write-up, Eze said I, Senator Magnus Abe swore to destroy the APC in Rivers State, this is not true rather it was the Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amechi his paymaster who at a leadership meeting of the APC held at the Dome Event Center on Peter Odili Road in Port Harcourt swore to destroy the APC in Rivers State if I did not shelve my ambition to contest the primaries within the party.
It is also on record that the Minister stated at that same meeting that he hates Rivers people. How can Eze quote me as having said what his paymaster said and turn around to support his lies with Bible verses?
Secondly, Eze talked about how Rotimi Amaechi made me all that I am today. I will respond to this because the minister himself has said as much on several occasions. Eze is merely marketing the views of his paymaster. For the records I have always tried hard to show gratitude and respect to all those who assisted me in life, but every reasonable human being knows that in life you can disagree with another human being if it was not for my exercise of that right I would not have been available for Amaechi to make me anything.
Rivers people know that as Commissioner for Information I was one of the closest politicians to Sir Dr Peter Odili, yet I disagreed with Odili to support Amaechi when Amaechi himself insisted on his own right to pursue his governorship ambition, against Odili’s wishes.
If We could part ways with Dr Odili, why can’t I part ways with Amaechi to pursue my own right?
Even though I disagreed with Dr. Odili while still serving as a commissioner in his cabinet, Sir Peter Odili has never publicly called me a traitor, or a betrayer, neither has he ever hired a publicist to focus on me or any other politician with whom he has parted ways. In fact he did not even drop me from his cabinet but allowed me to serve out my term.
I have always tried to show respect and gratitude to the Minister for the support that he gave to me while we worked together, Rivers people also know that I served his administration to the best of my ability and I tried to give diligent and honest service that added value which the minister himself should also publicly acknowledge. Moreover, every member of the seventh Senate can bear witness to the fact that myself and Senator Ake and others stood for Amaechi at the time it mattered most, but despite that can any of us including Dr Odili claim to have made Amaechi all he is today?
This talk of Amaechi making all of us whatever we are today is misleading in several ways and can only come from a latecomer like Eze. Those who still remember how we all used to hold our meetings at my residence at Mbonu Street in D/Line, Port Harcourt, when we were fighting for Amaechi governorship, know very well that it is the mercy of God and our hardwork and friendship that made all of us whatever we are today.
Nigerians must be wary of Chukwuemeka Eze. The fact that Eze, (a food is ready politician who joined Amaechi when he was already a Governor with resources), that a man with no polling unit in Rivers State can publicly insult the likes of Senator Ake is the reason Nigerians all across the country are clamoring for INEC-supervised direct primaries in our political parties so that the true value of paper chieftains like Chukwuemeka Eze can reflect in our choice of leadership.
As a seasoned politician I am sure that Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu can tell the difference between Ake and Eze in Rivers politics. If it is indirect primary, Ake as former Senator has a vote, if it’s direct Ake as a Rivers man, a registered voter with teeming supporters across his senatorial district has votes. What is the electoral value of Eze Chukwuemeka?
Finally, on the issues of our revalidation and my governorship ambition, Nigerians will recollect that the national secretariat of our great party stated publicly that those not revalidated in certain states including Rivers could participate in the congresses of the party, the national secretariat also set up a committee to review the exercise in Rivers State and directed that the exercise should be resumed, and those who were excluded in Rivers state including myself should be revalidated.
These facts are all in the public domain and I have advised all Rivers people who are genuinely committed to the APC in Rivers State to await further actions by the party.In a real democracy where numbers count political parties do not work hard to chase away members.
On the issue of my governorship ambition which appears to remain a major dividing line in our party, let me restate that I reserve the right to contest for the governorship of our state if I so desire. I come from the only senatorial district in the state that is yet to produce a Governor in Rivers State.
That people insist that things be done right is not desperation, contrary to the antics of Eze and his cohorts I have never asked to be anointed as a pre-condition for peace in the party all we have ever said is that the leadership should create a reasonable playing field where anyone interested and qualified can participate freely, We have always promised to support whatever is the outcome of such an open process.
Conflict entrepreneurs like Chukwuemeka Eze who only profit from crisis and disunity should tone it down, and Melenbe. As I have advised the Minister previously those who insist that you are right even when you know you are wrong do you no favours, there is nowhere in the world except in Rivers APC where things go wrong and everyone except the leader is at fault.
The APC in Rivers State is our responsibility we should own it up, do our best to grow the party and propel it to electoral victory.
That can only be achieved if we eschew needless to hatred and bitterness and focus on what really counts.”
Magnus Abe
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