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By Joel Anekwe
The Initiative for Transparent Strategy and Good Leadership (ITSGL) has raised alarm over a planned protest in Abuja against the minister for Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
The group alleged that the protesters were hired from across the country and sponsored by Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in collaboration with Sen. Magnus Abe-led faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC), adding that the alleged sponsors had already paid a whopping sum of N300 million towards the protest.
It further alleged that the proposed protest, which would be coming up in the next few days, ostensibly in the name of APC members in Rivers State, would be tagged ‘Amaechi has destroyed APC in Rivers State and must be expelled now,’ and was almost at the final preparatory stage.
President General of the Initiative for Transparent Strategy and Good Leadership (ITSGL), Chizy Enyi, in a press statement released in Port Harcourt said the N300 million has already been released to the three coordinators of the three NGOs that are to be used for the protest.
“The coordinators who have promised the Rivers PDP and Sen. Abe-led faction of APC members that they will close down all streets in Abuja leading to the national party secretariat of the APC.
“The wonder is why that huge amount of money will be released to protesters just to insult Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi while Rivers people are dying of hunger and abject poverty since the inception of the administration of the PDP led government in Rivers State,” Enyi said
He lamented that truly Rivers State was in a reverse gear, adding that “a state where the ruling party will spend N300 million on protest just to insult one man called Amaechi while the people of the state have no good road constructed by the administration, no access to medical facilities, no promotion for civil servants, state secretariat is in a moribund stage where ordinary lift is not working and above all, promotion of crime and reward to militants/cultists has been the order of the day in Rivers State is pitiable.
“The anti-party activities being perpetrated by Sen. Abe-led faction of APC is beyond the nose. They collaborated with the PDP-led government in Rivers State to make sure that APC did not produce any candidate in Rivers State in all the elective positions during the just concluded 2019 general election.
“Immediately after the elections, Abe called his few supporters and admonished them to stop calling him ‘Magnus the Governor.’ Sen. Abe told his supporters that though he did not become the governor of Rivers State but that he won Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi who cannot be proud of even a councillor and swore to stop at nothing to make sure APC in Rivers State will continue to have unending leadership crisis unless he becomes the governorship candidate of APC in Rivers State.
“Sen. Abe-led APC thereafter nominated some persons to serve in Gov. Wike’s inauguration committee, and Gov. Wike is still waiting for Sen. Abe-led APC to submit the list of seven commissioner-nominees which is why Rivers State government has not formed it’s cabinet as Gov. Wike openly told his PDP members that 50% of his victory was from God and the remaining 50% is from Sen. Abe,” Enyi further alleged.
The president general of the Initiative for Transparent Strategy and Good Leadership (ITSGL) wondered why the PDP-led government in Rivers State would be interested in the activities of APC in Rivers State instead of making peace with the national leadership of PDP which threatens to deal with him almost every day.
“We are aware of the new secret romance between PDP-led government in Rivers State and Sen. Abe-led faction of APC on the leadership crisis in Rivers State APC. The information available to us has it that the PDP leader in Rivers State has concluded plans to continue to frustrate all efforts of APC in Rivers State from having party elected officials.
“Our insider source from Rivers State Government House further informed us that about N250 million was released to institute fresh action against APC in Rivers State High Court to frustrate APC from conducting congresses in Rivers State. The matter which was instituted in the names of Ibrahim Umar and 22 Ors V. APC is currently pending before Hon. Justice Ollor.
“Our worry is that some of the names of those who brought the action against APC are dead and when did they resurrect to file action against APC. Remember, the same set of names was used to frustrate APC in Rivers State from producing any candidate in the 2019 general election. What a dangerous conspiracy,” Enyi said.
He alleged that the romance between the PDP-led government in Rivers State and Sen. Abe-led APC faction is no longer hidden, “as even the blind can see it. The huge amount of tax payers’ money that is to be spent on the protest was capable of transforming one local government area into a mega city in Rivers State.
“It is disheartening to note that the conspiracy theory is working perfectly well for Sen. Abe-led faction and the national leadership of APC kept silent over it and Sen. Abe-led faction is busy destroying all the attempts of the party in Rivers State. Is the national leadership of APC involved in this unholy alliance against Rivers State APC? If no, why the silence? Time shall surely tell as nothing last forever,” he said.
The president of the Initiative for Transparent Strategy and Good Leadership, Chizy Enyi Esq, warned the coordinators of the three NGOs to desist forthwith from such alleged action, adding that “it is not the best way to popularize an NGO,” as he advised members of APC to disregard the conspiracy protest coming up in few days’ time, as its sole aim is to discredit and embarrass the performing Hon. Minister for Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and nothing more.
Efforts to get the position of the Rivers State government or Sen. Magus Abe has not yielded any result as at the time of filing this report as text messages to Simeon Nwakudu, Governor Wike’s special assistant on Electronic Media, and Parry Benson, media assistant to Sen. Abe were yet to be replied.
However, in a radio programme in Port Harcourt Monday, PDP’s spokesman, Darlington Orji, dismissed Chizy Enyi’s allegations.
He said APC is already dead in Rivers State, wondering what his party will gain by destabilising “an already dead party,” noting that the PDP is rather looking forward to “APC uniting itself and forming a credible opposition that can challenge us. As of now, APC is already dead in Rivers.”
