The Amaechi led leadership structure of All PROGRESSIVES Congress APC has come under fire since the appointment if the former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as FCT Abuja Minister and the appointment of PDP member BOMA Iyaye as Executive Director Finance in the Board of Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC. There is also with the appointment of Chief Tony Okocha as Rivers State representative in the NDDC Board as sign of sidelining Amaechi led faction of Rivers State Chapter of APC.
Amaechi who spoke through his media aide, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze said when confronted by reporters, “During the 2023 general elections, Tony Okocha had ceased to be a member of APC as he, Magnus Abe, and others had refused to revalidate their APC membership cards. So if that is the case, Amaechi couldn’t have directed a non-member of APC to vote against the party.
“I will counsel Nigerians, particularly, you Journalists to disregard any statement about Rivers State APC from Tony Okocha and his likes. Amaechi is not only a respected member of APC but a great leader of the party in the South-South region until such a time it becomes imperative for him to change party.
“And let me reiterate that Wike, Okocha or any member of their misguided cohorts can not and will not be in a position to remove Amaechi from APC both as the leader of the party in the region and key member of APC no matter all their evil plots.”
Sequel to the confusion over the leadership of APC in Rivers State, the National Chairman of the party Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje asked members of APC in Rivers State to stop heating the polity as he responded in a publication where he warned the two factions in the state to stop overheating the system and allow the National Working Committee (NWC) to resolve the issues.”There is no doubt River State is a very important state in Nigeria; an oil-producing state with a reasonable population which is an asset for election and asset to any political party, he said.
Continuing in his admonitions he said “Our party in Rivers State is highly factionalised, that is a fact. Our party in Rivers State was killed by litigations, that one too is a fact. One important question to ask is ‘How come we won the presidential election and lost the state election?’ It is a miracle.
“So we have to congratulate you on that. But what we are saying, yes, there is confusion in the party, but we don’t want members to overheat the system; we are focused, we are organised, and we work scientifically in politics.
“Therefore, you give us an enabling environment; give us a chance so that we can put a round peg in a round hole, a square peg in a square hole so that we maintain our dignity as a party.
“We don’t want too much analysis because they say too much analysis leads to paralysis. So give us a chance so that we can consult, so that we look at the constitution of APC and then we wait and see how we can put things in order.
City People magazine reporter can tell you authoritatively that Chief Tony Okocha has been having running political battle with his former boss Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi over peculiar political party patronage and leadership which led to his joining forces with Senator Magnus Nge Abe to established Freedom House faction of Rivers State APC. Later Chief Okocha in 2022 began the formation of Bola Ahmed Asiwaju Support Vanguard -BATSV in Rivers State and Bayelsa State. This reporter was present at the first political pressure Group meetings held along an event center at Evo Road GRA Phase 2, at Port Harcourt.
Based on the fact that Senator Magnus Ngei Abe defected to Social Democractic Party-SDP whereas Chief Tony Okocha held sway as factional Rivers State APC alleged member gave him ample opportunity to have been be used by Nyesom Wike who he had worked with as Vice Chairman of Obio/ Akpor Local Government Area, in realizing the Presidential electoral victory of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Rivers state.
But in recent times when the leader of the APC faction, Tony Okocha, led top party leaders including key members of the state working committee and other leaders of the party across all the local government areas in Rivers State on a courtesy visit to the APC National Chairman, Dr Ganduje in Abuja he was said to have accused his former boss Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of having worked against APC especially during the 25th February 2023 presidential election.
It’s on record that Amaechi came second during the APC Presidential party primary where he lost to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Thus, Amaechi was less visible during the Presidential electoral campaigns.
From every indication Amaechi led faction of Rivers State APC are not holding any political appointment in President Tinubu’s cabinet.
For Tony Okocha, who while in the presence of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje-led National Working Committee (NWC) appealed that any political appointment reserved for Rivers APC should be directed through Nyesom Wike, a former Governor of Rivers State a People’s Democractic Party as in his words “In Rivers State, the leader of the slant which Cole and Dakuku, et al, belonged, had helmed up alliances with the PDP presidential candidate, HE, Atiku Abubakar, that Atiku and not Tinubu should be voted for in the presidential election.
“This wicked resolve against the APC in Rivers was openly announced in a meeting at the instance of the leader at his private residence in Port Harcourt, thickly attended by Mr. Cole, Dakuku, Chukwudi Dimkpa, et al, members of the innermost caucus.
“It was handed down that Tinubu must fail in Rivers State. They were thus, mandated to transport to their supporters in the 6868 polling units, 319 wards, and 23 local government areas in Rivers State.
“Was this obnoxious decision opposed by any of them either in words or actions? Will they deny ever attending such a meeting and receiving such dastardly instruction? We have pictorial, visual, and individual testimonies to this.
“How did they contribute to the party’s presidential victory in Rivers State and were unable to deliver their members who contested National Assembly elections on the same day?”
“It is crucial to note that in all of that event that gulped several million, neither Amaechi, Cole, Dakuku, et al now leading a delegation to the National Secretariat of our party, to belie the issues and make veritable their demand for compensation, contributed a split penny, neither did they contribute up to 10 genuine party members in the mammoth crowd that greeted that rally, for which the candidate, Asiwaju eulogised.”
As the battle of control and influence in Rivers State APC chapter rages on Chief Tony Okocha had asked the Ganduje-led NWC not to recognise any other APC camp in Rivers, claiming they ceased to be members of the party a long time ago.
It was gathered from a report that during the meeting at Abuja with Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the factional state chairman, Chief Emeka Bekee loyal to Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi said, “As our leader has just said, before the elections, there was a directive and that directive was ‘go and vote Atiku.’ But we said no, we are party loyalists and we will vote for our party’s candidate, Asiwaju.”
In a swift reaction it was also gathered that Amaechi camp denied this allegations describing it as a lie from pit of hell –Amaechi through his media aide, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze told Journalists, “That statement is not only a lie from the pit of hell but one of those ploys to continue to witch hunt and present Amaechi in bad light before the APC leadership in order for him and his associates to continue to eat the crumbs from the table of Tinubu..
“I will counsel Nigerians, particularly, you Journalists to disregard any statement about Rivers State APC from Tony Okocha and his likes. Amaechi is not only a respected member of APC but a great leader of the party in the South-South region until such a time it becomes imperative for him to change party.
“And let me reiterate that Wike, Okocha or any member of their misguided cohorts can not and will not be in a position to remove Amaechi from APC both as the leader of the party in the region and key member of APC no matter all their evil plots.”
– Emeka Amaefula
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