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Tag: Rotimi Amaechi

  • Amaechi, Abe renew face-off over Rivers APC congresses

    THE planned congresses in the local wing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State may renew the face-off between Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi and Senator Magnus Abe.

    Amaechi, a former governor and leader of the party in Southsouth zone, had at a reception in Abuja after his inauguration as minister, hinted that the APC national leadership would soon organise congresses in the Southsouth state.

    But Abe, a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) in the Amaechi’s administration, described the minister’s information on the congresses as unacceptable.

    He spoke when he hosted members of the APC Visionary Media Team at his Port Harcourt home at the weekend.

    In an online statement yesterday, Amaechi’s media office wondered why Abe was showing early signs of apprehension for the forthcoming congresses of APC in Rivers.

    The media office said: “Rt. Hon. Amaechi announced to his teeming supporters during the reception in Abuja that followed his inauguration as a second-term minister that they (the supporters) should begin to prepare for congresses, as part of rebuilding and repositioning the APC in Rivers State.

    “Rt. Hon. Amaechi expressed surprise that Senator Abe could resort to unguarded language to express his indisposition and fear for congresses, even when he (Amaechi) did not give date and time of congresses to his supporters.

    “The transportation minister did not give his supporters any date and time for the congresses, being the responsibility of the national secretariat of APC.

    “Senator Abe has no reason to be afraid of congresses. He should tell his supporters to also prepare for congresses, since he says he is very popular. A popular politician should be very happy anytime congresses are on the table.”

    The office also said that the transportation minister declined to respond to sundry comments made by Abe, declaring that such remarks were obvious signs of frustration on the former senator’s part.

    Addressing his supporters, Abe noted that Amaechi said there would be congresses in Rivers APC without cognizance to the existing judicial pronouncements on the subject matter and the need for consultation as it affects the interest of other party members.

    The former senator stated that the minister, rather than concentrating on his national assignment, was creating another avenue for tension and crisis in the political structure of the APC.

    According to him, similar actions affected the party in Rivers during the last general election.

    He urged Amaechi to demonstrate his sincerity in rebuilding Rivers APC by consulting other members of the party and showing respect for the rights and feelings of all stakeholders.

    Read Also: ‘INEC was unfair to Rivers State’

    Abe, who described himself as an advocate of internal democracy and justice within the party, pleaded with APC members in Rivers to be resolute and committed to the growth of the party in the state.

    He assured his supporters that even if he was out of office, he remained committed to the development of the APC, insisting that peace, inclusiveness, progress and the commitment of all members to develop the party were needed.

    Abe said: “Look at the state of our party here today in Rivers State, yet the minister for Transportation, on assumption of office, the first thing he did was to announce congresses in Rivers State and I ask myself, this was the same kind of behaviour that led the party to where it is.

    “Everybody in Nigeria knows that the origin of the crisis in Rivers APC was from the congresses and how the congresses were handled.

    “There are extant judicial pronouncements on the last congresses, which the party was misled to ignore and we have all kept quiet, in the hope that by keeping quiet, we will create room for resolution of some of these challenges, so that the party can move forward.”

    Speaking earlier, the Director-General of Rivers APC Visionary Media Team, Robertson Jack, stated that the visit was necessitated by the need to pledge their unalloyed support to Abe’s peaceful disposition in the pursuit of internal democracy, inclusiveness, justice, and equity in Rivers APC.

    Jack said that the group would play its role to ensure that APC succeeds in the next level.

  • Buhari assured me of second term in office, says Amaechi

    The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has revealed that he knew he would return as a Minister in the second term of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    Ameachi said he got the hint from President Buhari.

    The Minister who spoke briefly at his swearing-in reception said: “The President told me the same week cabinet was dissolved that I will return you to cabinet.

    Read Also: Women in Buhari’s cabinet, their portfolios

    “I kept it a secret but I could have announced to you. So all those who were running helter-skelter, we knew that God would not allow them to have their way”.

    The Minister while appreciating God for his reappointment said he would ensure that ministry performs optimally to please the President and Nigerians at large.

    “We are grateful to God for the opportunity to serve again.I know how many of you were frightened that we would not get the appointment.”

  • Amaechi gets highest Catholic knight promotion

    A MINISTER-designate, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, has been promoted to the highest rank in the Catholic Church under the Order of the Knights of St. John.

    The exemplification honour of the Knights of St. John from Grand Master, Nigerian Temple Noble and Exalted Knights of the Holy Cross Knight of St. John International, was conferred on the minister-designate for his service to the Order and humanity for over 20 years at the Pope John Paul II Catholic Centre in Abuja. Monsignor Kenneth Enang, the cleric in charge of the Pope John II Catholic Centre, explained that the promotion was premised on Amaechi’s support for the growth of the Catholic Church.

    “We want to thank you, Knights of St John’s, all the other knights, college of knights, for the work you are doing for the church, for the support we get from the knights in many areas not only the financial support but also the moral support.

    Read Also: Poverty alleviation panacea to insecurity – Amaechi

    “The Knights of St. Colombo’s built the seminary we have now at Kuje when Cardinal Ekandem was alive and many of the knights have built churches and handed over to the church.

    “We ask God to bless you and your good works and let your labours not be in vain,” he said.

    In his acceptance speech, Amaechi expressed his continued  commitment to the Catholic Church and membership of the knights.

    The minister-designate also  expressed joy for the promotion, saying:  “For our leaders, our grandmaster here present, thinking that we are qualified; my friend, Collyns and Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, we are very grateful and happy for considering us worthy of this great position. Thank you and God bless you.”

     

  • Change in Nigeria’s democracy is still work in progress, says Abe

    The representative of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District in the Seventh and Eighth Senate, Magnus Abe, has stated that the process of change in Nigeria’s democracy is still work in progress.

    He also called on Nigerian politicians to return power to the people by creating clear processes that could galvanise and determine the wishes of the people, stressing that persons in power must learn to submit themselves to the will of the people.

    Abe, a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG) in the Rotimi Amaechi’s administration, who stated these over the weekend, noted that the time had come for political parties in Nigeria to strictly adhere to the principles of internal democracy, thereby making the parties to work to promote the overall interest of the country and that of its members, rather than serve the narrow interest of a few leaders.

    The senator, who was the Chairman, Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) at the 8th Senate, pointed out that strong institutions would boost political stability and discourage violence, bigotry, and rascality, which according to him, was currently playing out in Nigeria’s political environment.

    He said: “The time has come for us to address the issue of Nigeria, the kind of political parties that we have and what we should do to make the parties work better to serve the interest, not just of its members, but the interest of the country at large.

    “We need political parties that are truly democratic, that have clear rules of internal democracy that allows the participation and free expression of will by its members.

    “I am concerned about what we can do to make our systems stronger to avoid the kind of violent situations being experienced in the country, because if you look around not much seems to have changed. The same kind of scenarios that we witnessed in Rivers State and in other states of the federation, where some political parties could not produce a strong internal conflict resolution mechanism, is still ongoing.

    “There are no clear cut, all-inclusive procedures that could allow free expression of will by party members. All Nigerians, not just members of political parties, but all citizens, must be concerned about the direction of party politics.”

    Abe, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also declared that he had no personal grudges against the 2019 governorship candidate of APC in Rivers, Pastor Tonye Cole, and the leader of the party (APC) in Rivers and South south zone, Rotimi Amaechi, a minister-designate.

    He insisted that his former boss (Amaechi, an ex-governor of Rivers State) should stop seeing himself as the only highway in the APC, such that it is either everybody must follow his (Amaechi’s) decisions or be booted out of the party, stating that there was no such provision in the party’s constitution.

    The senator said: “I do not think that members of the party (APC), even those who are with him (Amaechi), will agree with that attitude. The nature of power in this country is that people see themselves as helpless, when the powers that be, have taken a stand.

    “We need to bring the party back together, because a political party that cannot gather members to win an election is just like a social club.

    “To take over power, you need to have the capacity to build consensus and that is what we have been unable to do in the APC, particularly in Rivers State and we are still open to that possibility.

    Read Also: Abe blames politicians for insecurity

    “I remain committed like other members of the APC to delivering change, not just to the country, but first to the party itself and I believe that within the party, we should focus on giving the power and the voice back to the people.”

    Abe accused the former Transportation Minister (Amaechi) of hiring an alleged propagandist, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, to falsely malign and demarket him (Abe), in order to justify the unjustifiable injustice that was allegedly perpetrated on Rivers people during the last political dispensation.

    He said: “When people have already done something wrong and realised that what they have done is not defendable, not acceptable and that reasonable people will not accept it, neither can it be defended, they go back to create a narrative that justifies what clearly cannot be justified.

    “I have decided to ignore all those things, because Amaechi knows that they are not true. Chief Eze who is saying them knows that they not true and the majority of reasonable people in the country know that those things are nothing but pure blackmail.”

  • Peterside hails Amaechi’s renomination

    The renomination and screening of the immediate past Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, by President Muhammadu Buhari, have been described as recognition of the former governor of Rivers State’s hard work, commitment and doggedness to the success of Buhari’s administration.

    The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, stated this on Friday at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, in an interactive session with reporters.

    He hailed the Senate for the successful screening of Amaechi, a two-term Speaker of Rivers House of Assembly.

    He said: “Rt. Hon. Amaechi proved his mettle as an administrator of men, materials and resources during his tenure as transportation minister.

    Read Also: There are plots to smear me, Amaechi cries out

    His renomination by the President is a vote of confidence in him and also a mark of honour. He performed impressively in the railway, maritime and port sectors of the economy.

    “Under Amaechi’s watch, Nigeria witnessed tremendous leaps in the reforms carried out in NIMASA, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), other maritime agencies and railway sectors, which have produced outstanding results to the benefit of Nigerians.

    He is a reform-minded and visionary leader who approaches his work with the highest degree of passion and commitment.

    “Rt. Hon. Amaechi will always bring his wealth of experience to bear and create indelible marks in every national assignment, as he has done in all the offices he has held.”

    The 2015 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State also stated that the Senate in screening the former Rivers governor, without much ado, deepened the National Assembly’s nod for performing public servants.

  • Police: we’re not overwhelmed by insecurity in Rivers

    The spokesman of Rivers State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), has said the command is not overwhelmed by insecurity in the Niger Delta state.

    He spoke on Tuesday on phone while assuring residents of the safety of their lives and property.

    The immediate past Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, who is a former Rivers State governor, recently accused his successor, Nyesom Wike, of lacking the capacity to effectively govern the volatile state.

    Amaechi, a chieftain of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), insisted that there was insecurity in all the 23 local government areas of the state, especially with penultimate week’s killing of 40 innocent persons in a community in Ogoni community.

    Wike, who is one of the leaders of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), urged Rivers residents and other Nigerians to ignore Amaechi’s “lies”.

    The governor described the former minister as frustrated.

    Read Also: Wike inaugurates ninth Rivers Assembly

    Wike said he remained focused with investors trooping into the state as a result of the acclaimed improvement in security across the state.

    Omoni said: “The police in Rivers State are doing their best to contain criminal activities. We indeed have pockets of criminal activities in the state, but we are on top of the situation. We are not overwhelmed.

    “It must be pointed out that insecurity is not peculiar to Rivers State, but we are doing our best to provide tight security for more investors to be moving into the state.”

    He urged the public to continually give useful and timely information to the police to ensure the safety of lives and property.

     

  • Amaechi: sharing govt cash not the best

    It was his 54th birthday celebration in Port Harcourt, but it provided immediate past Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi with the opportunity to share his belief about looting public funds among others, reports Bisi Olaniyi, Southsouth Bureau Chief

    A former Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government (SSG), Senator Felix Oboro, who chaired the 54th birthday celebration of ex-Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi at the highbrow Aztech Arcum Event Centre on Ken Saro-Wiwa (formerly Stadium) Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State on May 27, described the celebrator as a consistent politician.

    Oboro, who said he closely worked with Amaechi, a former Governor of Rivers state (2007-2015), in the old Rivers state, before Bayelsa state was created out of the old Rivers state on October 1, 1996 by the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha, also stated that he and the Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers-born politician (Amaechi) related very well, when Chief Rufus Ada-George and Dr. Peter Odili were Rivers governors.

    The ex-SSG (Oboro), a Bayelsan, noted that Amaechi, as the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly (1999-2007), Chairman of Forum of Speakers in Nigeria, Rivers Governor, the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the Director-General in 2015 and 2019 of the victorious Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign Organisation and Minister for Transportation, performed excellently.

    Read Also: Why we suspended floating national carrier – Amaechi

    Oboro said: “Amaechi has been very consistent, loyal and dedicated to the just cause. He is a performer. Amaechi’s reappointment by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Director-General of his re-election campaign organisation is an indication that the President was satisfied with his impressive performance.

    “I am proud of Amaechi, a fair minded, detribalised, disciplined, humble and simple politician. He has helped many persons, irrespective of where they come from. Amaechi is trying his best to ensure the election of a riverine person as the Governor of Rivers State, to end the domination by the uplanders. Very soon, Rivers State will have a riverine person as governor. When it is the turn of Southsouth to produce Nigeria’s President, I am very sure that the people of the zone and other Nigerians will support Amaechi.”

    The chairman of the occasion also urged other Nigerians to always emulate the transportation minister, who is the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state and the Southsouth zone, fondly called the Lion of the Niger Delta.

    The colourful event also had in attendance, Amaechi’s wife of 28 years, Dame Judith; a former Minister of Culture and Tourism, Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas; Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who was represented by Nkem Osuagwu: the 2019 governorship candidate of APC in Rivers, Pastor Tonye Cole, and his running mate, Chief Victor Giadom, who is now the Acting National Secretary of APC; the Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside; and the 2019 governorship candidate of African Action Alliance (AAC) in Rivers, Biokpomabo Awara, an engineer.

    Senators Andrew Uchendu, Ovie Omo-Agege and Ifeanyi Araraume; the Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Prof. Nelson Brambaifa: the Acting Executive Director, Finance and Administration (EDFA) of the Federal Government’s interventionist agency (NDDC), Dr. Chris Amadi; Rivers Chairman of APC, Ojukaye Flag-Amachree; and a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Dawari George, among other eminent personalities were also at the well-attended event.

    The Founder and Senior Pastor of Trinity House, Lagos, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, was the guest preacher, while other renowned clerics were also in attendance.

    Music was supplied by the iconic Prof. Laz Ekwueme, legendary Buchi, Joe Praise, Precious Omuku, Steve Crown and Magnificent Choir, among others, while the Masters of Ceremonies (MCs) included Julius Agwu, Basorge Tariah Jnr. and Amaechi’s “son” in secondary school, Dr. Michael Ogbolosingha, who is a former Mayor (Chairman) of Yenagoa Local Government Council of Bayelsa state.

    At the event, tagged: “Evening of Hymns and Songs,” had the Bishop of the Niger Delta North Diocese of the Anglican Communion, Bishop Wisdom Ihunwo, taking the opening prayer, shortly after the transportation minister got to the well-decorated arena at 4:41 p.m. on May 27, while the only Bible reading, from Psalm 145: 1-21, was taken by Dame Judith Amaechi.

    In the sermon, titled: “The Lessons of Life,” the guest preacher (Pastor Ituah Ighodalo), who quoted Psalm 90: 4-12, described life as a series of lessons that must be learnt, stressing that people must be willing to learn and they must be teachable.

    Pastor Ighodalo said: “Consistently fear the Lord and obey His instructions. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. Always study the word of God (Bible). Wicked, selfish and violent persons will not make it to heaven.

    “Nigeria is in need of great, selfless and outstanding leadership that will be concerned about the poor, for Nigeria to be great.”

    The cleric (Pastor Ighodalo) also prayed that God would give the transportation minister wisdom, understanding and he will not be put to shame.

    The President of the National Union of Nigerian Students, Danielson Bamidele Akpan, in his remarks, reiterated that Amaechi stood strong in the face of intimidation, while believing in the empowerment of young people.

    Akpan noted that the transportation minister had been supporting President Buhari to greatly reform the system, while praying that God would continue to strengthen him.

    Amaechi, while speaking before cutting his birthday cake, along with his wife, stated that there was the need for religious tolerance, considering a large number of his Muslim friends who honoured him at the event while hailing them and others for coming.

    He said: “One funny thing about my 54th birthday is that the people of my mother’s village also organised a thanksgiving service yesterday (May 26). I thank you all, including the Chief of the village. God bless all of you. My church in Abuja also organised a birthday thanksgiving service for me. I am very grateful. I thank my dear wife, who organised a birthday dinner for me. A group of people also organised a reading session in Lagos on my birthday. Many persons and groups also organised birthday activities for me. I thank you all.

    “I ought to be in a meeting in Abuja today (on May 27), but President Muhammadu Buhari said today is my birthday, I should travel to Port Harcourt for my birthday celebration. I thank him. He is a wonderful President. He is not a normal politician. Nothing to share (Federal Government’s fund). The money that should have been used to build roads, schools and to embark on other development projects, they were sharing it in the previous administration. Now, they are being called to accountability, but there are no roads, no schools, no power, no hospitals, among others, because the money was shared among themselves.

    “One sad thing about sharing of money for development projects is that some people feel that it is the best, but the people who get more from the looted fund are the people who bring out the money to be shared. When they steal $20 million, they give people around them $2,000 and keep the balance. Sharing is not the best. The best is what we are doing now, by embarking on people-oriented and capital-intensive projects.”

    The ex-transportation minister also reiterated that there was a time that Port Harcourt International Airport was described as the worst airport in the world, noting that the situation had changed for the better, with President Buhari recently inaugurating one of the best airports in Nigeria in Port Harcourt.

    He said: “So, Port Harcourt International Airport is no longer the worst airport in the world. Before May 29, 2015, there was no airport in Port Harcourt. The Federal Government of Nigeria, headed by President Buhari, is currently constructing the Bodo-Bonny Road in Rivers State, abandoned for many years. From N49 billion to N120 billion. It is a big project and the Federal Government is fully committed to delivering it on schedule. The destructive critics are still claiming that the APC’s administration of President Buhari has done nothing in Rivers State. You have now known who the liars are.

    “As at today (May 27) that I am speaking with you, we have just applied for a loan to do Port Harcourt-Warri railway, which is part of the coastal rail, to join the Itakpe-Warri rail. Another segment of the coastal rail is the Benin City to Onitsha. The Benin-Onitsha rail will join the Itakpe-Warri rail at Agbor.

    “The man who takes care of your welfare is your brother. You have a brother from Niger Delta, who does not care about you, and you have a Hausa man who cares for you. Then, who is your brother?”

    Amaechi also expressed displeasure on the insecurity in Rivers state, stressing that the gains of his administration in the area of safety of lives and property had been reversed.

    “In Rivers State now, people are being slaughtered every day. We no longer have enough policemen in Rivers State, because all the big men and women have taken almost all the policemen in the state. Night clubs are almost dead in Port Harcourt and its environs because all the big men who patronise them are stocked in their houses, because of insecurity, especially kidnapping, armed robbery, assassination and cultism.

    “Just watch out for population explosion, with husbands and their wives being forced to remain indoors for many months. Although, the wives are very happy that their husbands are now at home. The husbands are not at home, because they love their wives, but as a result of insecurity in Rivers State. If you stay with your wife for six months, if care is not taken, you will have a child.

    “As the Governor of Rivers State, I restored security, but the criminals that I chased away are now back. With my administration’s restoration of security, night clubs came back. As a governor, I went to night clubs, with minimal security. I also placed the emphasis on massive infrastructural development and I created employment opportunities for the teeming qualified people, including many non-indigenes, who are still happy with their jobs.

    “We will quickly round off this birthday celebration because I cannot guarantee your security after here (Aztech Arcum Event Centre). Some days ago in Ogoni (Rivers State), forty persons were killed. Just yesterday (May 26), some innocent persons were killed in Port Harcourt and one of them was beheaded.”

    The transportation minister also urged Nigerians to get united and pray more, stressing that during the March 23 and March 9, 2019 elections, the people did not pray enough, while reiterating that during the 2015 elections, everybody was fasting and praying, until God delivered Nigerians, admonishing the people to work much harder and pray more.

    He wished Nigerians the best and assured that President Buhari would do better in his second tenure than in the first term.

    Amaechi also thanked everybody that honoured him on his birthday, especially his colleagues in the Federal  Ministry of Transportation and particularly the Permanent Secretary.

    He disclosed that when many of his colleagues at the Federal Executive Council were complaining about their permanent secretaries, he was always telling them to leave his permanent secretary alone.

    The former Rivers governor (Amaechi) also expressed gratitude to the organisers and sponsors of the birthday bash, revealing that he did not put in a Kobo for the grand event.

    It is good to always celebrate persons who have positively impacted society, for the younger generations to be emulating their selfless services to the society and humanity, in order to move forward.

  • FG commences cargo service by rail from Kaduna dry port

    The Federal Government has commenced the operation of cargo delivery service from Kaduna Inland Dry Port to Lagos State.

    Compared to cargo delivery by road, the commencement of the cargo service by rail is expected to reduce the cost of delivery by 50 percent.

    According to the federal government, the service will also create 24,000 direct jobs within and around the dry port.

    Speaking during the flag-off ceremony of the commencement of cargo delivery by rail to Kaduna port from Lagos seaports, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi said the dry port project was part of measures introduced by Federal government to decongest the seaports.

    Ameachi, who was represented by the Director of Maritime Services,  Sani Galandanci, explained the service will address loss of cargo in transit, stop carnage and accidents on the roads, reduce transport cost and bring shipping services closer to shippers which would  stimulate economic growth development.

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai said the cargo service will boost the state’s internally generated revenue and decongest the seaports.

    Read Also: Kaduna is peaceful, safe, DIG assures

    He also disclosed his intention to send a trade delegation to Niger Republic with the aim of wooing them to utilize the cargo service.

    He said: “The commencement has confirmed that our inland dry port is functioning and you can ship your goods direct from Kaduna to any part of the world and you can also import goods from any part of the world direct to Kaduna without your containers or any of your goods being opened up for inspection in Lagos.

    “Today’s event has opened a new vista of commercial opportunities not only for Northern businessmen but even for our neighbouring countries.”

    On the economic benefit of the port, he said: “The optimal operations of an inland dry port will impact tremendously on agro business, stimulate industrialisation and production, thereby increasing our internally generated revenue.

    “It will create jobs for our young people, it will expand business opportunities and also lower the cost of doing business for our business men here in Nigeria as well as lower the cost of agricultural products in southern Nigeria.”

    Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello said the cargo service will address the challenges faced by the importers and exporters and guarantee seamless movement of cargo from the seaports to Kaduna Inland Dry Port.

    On efforts taken to attract investors to Kaduna, he said: “We are in preliminary discussion with Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council in London and we want to bring them to Kaduna so that they can have a look so that they will know what value they can add to the dry port.

    “It is important that the dry port is not just a transportation center but a hub of economic activities.

    “We need to have so many facilities, like stores, refrigerated warehouses, consolidation centers, factories especially for packaging which is a problem for export.”

  • Amaechi, Rivers and South-South APC

    Strange things are happening in Rivers State. After the political conflicts of the last general elections and, indeed, of the last five years, I was astonished to hear Governor Nyesom Wike, following his victory at the polls, call on his bitter foes on the All Progressives Congress (APC) side, for cooperation and reconciliation.

    My initial reaction was that the comments were tongue-in-check. But at Easter, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, again, struck the same reconciliatory tone – asking the people for forgiveness and unity, declaring that the state was far from where they envisaged it would be at this point.

    Anyone who has followed the harsh rhetoric that has trailed the power struggle by both sides, would therefore have taken notice when Amaechi’s allies in the APC for whom Senator Andrew Uchendu spoke recently, accepted Wike’s olive branch.

    The results of the governorship election in which APC never got to participate were never in doubt given the advantages of incumbency which Wike enjoyed. The closest he had to a challenger was the AAC’s Biokpomabo Awara’s feeble effort.

    Now that the battle has been won and lost, what should a strategic politician do? Continue to moan over spilt milk or begin to plan ahead for the next contest?

    The good thing is that there would be no incumbent on the ticket in four years – meaning the playing field would be more level. Lowering the political temperature gives the minister the opportunity of resolving the internal conflicts that ended up denying the party a chance to challenge Wike effectively.

    Such was the bitterness of the legal battles fought by Senator Magnus Abe – who like Wike was one of Amaechi’s closest allies having served as Secretary to the State Government under him – that reconciliation may seem like a farfetched dream at this point.

    Still, if Amaechi and Wike can be singing the same hymns of reconciliation, nothing makes it impossible for him and Abe to kiss and make up. That is why politics is referred to as the art of the possible.

    A change of strategy is imperative as the parties begin to look forward to 2023. In this wise, APC’s relative weakness in the south is something the party needs to address because PDP may have lost the presidency, but emerged with better national spread – having governors in every zone.

    In the south APC is strongest in the Southwest and weakest in the Southeast where it once again received an electoral rebuff.

    The South-South zone therefore offers the party the best option for shoring up its presence down south. Aside Edo where it has a governor and produced the APC’s national chairman, much hope was invested in the party riding on the supposed political strengths of former Akwa Ibom Governor, Godswill Akpabio, to penetrate the state. That turned out to be a forlorn hope.

    Which brings us back to Rivers, aside Edo and Akwa Ibom, as the party’s best hope of enhancing its national spread and shoring up its position in the South-South zone. There is no denying that APC retains substantial support in the state despite not being on the 2019 ballot.

    If it had had candidates, even if Wike had prevailed in the gubernatorial contest the parties would have shared the state assembly, House and senate seats. The challenge for Amaechi as the party’s leader is to build again on that latent support base by dealing with all the recent fractures.

    His job should be made easier by the fact that whatever losses have been suffered on the home front, have been ameliorated by the success of the presidential campaign which he headed. That virtually guarantees that he would be one of the returnees in Buhari next cabinet. A role in Abuja gives him the continued relevance necessary for this sort of effort.

  • Real reasons Akpabio, Amaechi reconciled

    NOT a few people were shocked when the news filtered out recently that a truce was brokered between two former South-South governors, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi and Senator Godwill Akpabio. Truce? Were they at loggerheads with each other, many wondered?

    Unknown to them, the two former governors had engaged in a quiet but bruising battle for supremacy. The war predates the APC. When both Amaechi and Akpabio held sway as the governors of Rivers and Akwa Ibom states respectively, there existed between them a bitter rivalry as to who was in charge of the South-South geo-political zone and could be deferred to as the leader of the region the way Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is regarded in Lagos and the South West.

    The rivalry was fueled more by cash than any special consideration for the development of the region. Whereas Akwa lbom, prior to 2015, would collect about N30 billion monthly from Abuja, Rivers would collect about N28 billion. They each flaunted the buoyancy of their states and saw this as conferring them with the Eze 1 (king) of the region.

    Other governors, particularly Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, distanced themselves from the battle for supremacy. In terms of economic power, Edo State could well be a local government in either state.

    Read also: Amaechi, Bello, others bag Transport, Tourism awards

    The rivalry was taken to the last elections in which both politicians were worsted by their opponents. While Akpabio lost his bid to return to the Senate on the platform of the All Progressives Congress and possibly aim at becoming the Senate President, Amaechi’s candidate in the Rivers governorship election was trounced by Governor Nyesom Wike.

    Both are currently on what can be described as ‘zero level’ whereas their party is moving to ‘next level.’ Realising that the acrimony could lead to both of them becoming irrelevant, they initiated a truce, though report said that it was brokered by a third party.

    At a meeting in Abuja last week, both political juggernauts acted a well-crafted script. They resolved to sheath the sword, and work together in the interest of the SouthSouth and the nation. An observer told Sentry: “Is it not better they are friends in the present circumstance, lending each other a helping hand to move from zero level to next level, than continue as bitter rivals and end up losing all?”

    The observer called the move by the ex-rivals as ‘strategic’ in these uncertain times when President Muhammadu Buhari is compiling his list of ministers post-May 29.