The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has risen
in stout defence of the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike
Rotimi Amaechi, dismissing calls for his resignation led by the State
Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following allegations by
some recently arrested Judges that he tried to influence their rulings on
some election petition cases.
Rivers APC in a statement issued on Monday in Port Harcourt and signed by
the State APC Chairman, Chief (Dr.) Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, insisted that
Amaechi is clean and not guilty as charged. “We are convinced that God,
who has always fought for Amaechi, will continue to save and strengthen
him and will once again vindicate him,” the party said.
It lambasted both Rivers PDP, the National PDP and others who have joined
in calling on Amaechi to resign and for his probe based on the allegations
of attempted bribery levelled by some sponsored and drowning judges who
were looking for a tool to stay afloat as not only vindictive, shameless,
laughable, mischievous but exposure of a clique that is so desperate to
expose and express their ignorance and evil plots against a man whom they
see as the arrowhead that dislodged them from power at the centre. “These
calls being championed by the PDP are just the latest manifestation of the
party’s frustration and fight against Amaechi in retaliation for his role
in dislodging the PDP Government at the centre during the 2015
presidential elections. These useless calls based on the unfounded and
baseless attempted bribery allegations against the former Rivers State
Governor and Minister of Transportation confirms our fears and stand that
the two discredited Justices made these allegations as part of a political
strategy to destroy APC and run down the political fortunes of this rising
star. PDP is only acting out its frustration over the key role that
Amaechi played to end the corruption system engineered by the past PDP
administration at the centre but let us assure the public that this plot
has already failed before it was hatched because no sound Nigerian will
buy this lame allegation that have no logical stand,” Rivers APC said.
The party recalled the failed plots by PDP to deny Amaechi the party’s
gubernatorial ticket he won convincingly in 2007 and the efforts PDP also
made to ensure that Amaechi was neither screened nor appointed as a
Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “Having failed to deny him
the 2007 PDP gubernatorial ticket and to stop his appointment as a
Minister, PDP is now sponsoring some unpatriotic, chronic corrupt and
confused Judges to start mentioning Amaechi’s name in the hope that doing
so will save them from paying for their heinous crime against the people
of Rivers State and Nigeria as a whole,” the statement said.
Continuing, Rivers APC said: “We wish to counsel the Justices already
arrested for corruption to be men enough and face their trial accordingly
and leave Amaechi alone. Amaechi’s only crime was that he played a
yeoman’s role in the efforts to see to the emergence of the revered
Muhammadu Buhari as the President of Nigeria who, imbued with God’s wisdom
and strength, has launched an uncompromising war against those who looted
our common patrimony who in retaliation are frustrating the economic
recovery of our dear country by promoting insecurity in our country.
“We will like to reiterate unequivocally that Amaechi is not only clean
but a tool to free Nigeria from the corruption imposed on us by those who
hate our nation. He demonstrated his sagacity and prudence by saving a
whopping sum of N134.4 billion (Using N168 to $1 as it was in 2014 when
the contract was first signed under Jonathan’s Administration) for the
nation by negotiating downwards the planned 1,402km Calabar-Lagos Coastal
Rail Project. “Rt. Hon. Amaechi has by this singular act demonstrated to
the entire world that he is one of the Saints in the public service of our
great nation.”
As much as we sympathise with PDP in its failed plot and wild chase to
silence and intimidate Amaechi, let us remind them that Amaechi will never
be cowed as fighting against him means fighting against God and failure
will always be their portion but incase they have forgotten so soon,
Chibuike means “God is all Powerful” and “Rotimi” an abridged version of
“Oluwadurotimi” meaning “the Lord stands by me”, while Amaechi means “who
knows tomorrow?” It is, however, in vain that these chronic looters and
enemies of Nigeria are fighting against Amaechi as he is innocent of the
charges against him and bound to triumph at the end of the day.