AMAECHI, GOODLUCK AND PDP: THE WAR WITHIN

AMAECHI, GOODLUCK AND PDP: THE WAR WITHIN

Hours after he was suspended from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, yesterday, solicited prayers from citizens of the state against desperate persons who he claimed were after his life.

The suspension of Amaechi from the party was agreed during an unscheduled and unusually early morning meeting of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party at the residence of the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. The meeting, Vanguard learnt, commenced at 8.00 a.m.

The meeting came two days ahead of the regular meeting of the NWC which normally holds on Wednesdays. It was also three days after Amaechi beat the odds with his re-election as chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF. He had been allegedly opposed by the PDP Governors’ Forum, PDP-GF ahead of the election.

My life under threat — Amaechi

Reacting to his suspension during an interactive session with youths of the state, Amaechi called for prayers saying that desperate people who he claimed did not follow the due process of hearing from him could also be after his life.

He, however, vowed that God who kept him in the face of the six-month intrigues that preceded his inauguration in 2007 would also see him through. The interactive session with the youths with the theme: “Consolidating on Rivers of our Dreams” took place at the Banquet Hall of Government House, Port Harcourt.

Noting the desperation of his foes, he said: “The way these people at the federal level are desperate, they may come after my life. So when you pray, remember to pray for me to remain alive.

“Who has power to suspend Obio/Akpor council? Now you see political witch-hunting; it is so ridiculous, my party must rise above political witch-hunting. The Governor did not suspend Obio/Akpor council, I hope you know. My power is to dissolve and remit it to the House of Assembly, but I have not done that yet, what the Assembly has said is ‘we are investigating corruption’ then the party says we should not investigate corruption, is that fair?”.

Amaechi said the NWC issued a press statement to suspend him without any invitation and fair hearing. “I was not invited by the National Working Committee of PDP, I was not given fair hearing. What I heard was ‘why did I refuse to reinstate the suspended Obio/Akpor Council executive? Who suspended them?’, he asked.

His question received the enthusiastic response of the youths who chorused: “The Rivers State House of Assembly.”

Again the governor asked, ‘who has the power to investigate Obio/Akpor council executive?”. The Youths again replied: “The State Assembly.”

“If they are not guilty, then they will re-instate them, but if they are guilty, then we will ask for the dissolution of the council.  We have not even gone half, and the Party (PDP) says re-instate them. It means that the party likes corruption. Let the Assembly resume and commence investigation, let’s see what goes on. Whether there is corruption or not, it is the business of the Assembly.  I have been a Speaker, and I know the powers of a Speaker and the legislature.  I used it when I was a Speaker”, Amaechi said.

“What is the police still doing at the Obio/Akpor Council building?  The court gave an order to the Police to vacate Obio/Akpor Council, they disobeyed, and the police are still stationed there”, he said.

“The Federal Government does not care, they only stationed police at Obio/Akpor council, even if everybody dies, they don’t care.  Now the whole state will be grounded, because the police have refused to vacate the Obio/Akpor Council Secretariat. They don’t want to know, we are not important to the federal government, we are not important at all”, Amaechi lamented.

“You know what it took for us to stop militancy in the state. But only last week, they now organized militants to return to the streets of Port Harcourt, is that not shameful. You all know how the militants spent our money, raped our women, killed our parents and young men.  Immediately the militants stopped protesting, the police said, nobody should protest again”, Amaechi stated.

“Internal democracy is important in our party,  they fought me with everything, and I still won the Nigeria Governors’ Forum election, what should they do?  They should have joined me to thank God.  Because what it means is that God has spoken.  It happened when I was in Ghana, I fasted and prayed for six months, 6am to 6pm, and God made me Governor...


source: vanguardngr.com