The Rivers State Governor, RotimiAmaechi on Thursday debunked media reports insinuating that he had plans to dump the Peoples’ Democratic Party ahead of the 2015 elections, saying he did not intend to leave the party currently enmeshed in crises.
A national newspaper had on Wednesday reported that the governor, along with three unnamed governors from the South-East, had concluded plans to leave the party.
But Amaechi had after a meeting with Vice-President Namadi Sambo told journalists that dumping the PDP would be a foolish decision because it remained the only national party in the country.
He said, “I am still in the PDP. I am a member of the PDP. PDP is the only national party in the country for now. Why will one want to leave a national party and go to another party?”
Amaechi has for some time been embroiled in a running battle with the Presidency over his leadership style as the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, with some of the party hierarchy and loyalists of President Goodluck Jonathan being of the opinion that Amaechi was not spending his term as the forum’s chairman to attract maximum benefits to the PDP and the Jonathan administration.
The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak had even openly accused Amaechi of running the forum like a trade union.
The battle culminated in the PDP and the Presidency rallying loyal governors to the villa and setting up the PDP Governors’ Forum as a parallel organization under the chairmanship of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio with a view to whittling down Amaechi’s influence.
It was learnt that the Sambo-Amaechi meeting in the Villa on Thursday was aimed at feeling the pulse of the governor and persuading him not to rock the boat for Jonathan.
Chairman, Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, was also said to have during his recent peace meeting to Rivers State begged the governor not to leave the party.
Amaechi denied that he had plans to leave the PDP and described news report saying that he had acquired four aircraft to run his own campaign for the 2015 race as “mere mischief”
He explained that his administration in Rivers got approval from relevant government agencies to procure a helicopter for aerial surveillance of the state in order to improve on security.
He said, “The truth is that, and the Federal Government is aware, they gave us approval to buy a helicopter to fly around Rivers State for the purpose of security and we have done that, we bought and we paid.
“Up till now, they have not allowed the helicopter to come in. Maybe they are afraid that it is for 2015. Please help us beg them on behalf of Rivers State that we need the aircraft to be able to secure the people of the state.
“Again, it is not within our control. It is in the control of the Nigerian Air Force. Although we will hire a civilian pilot but Nigerian security will manage it, not us.
“How will you use what is in the hands of Nigerian security to campaign? You see the mischief? The helicopter is to ensure that Rivers State is under watch for 24 hours. It has cameras, so if somebody is committing a crime, we are seeing it.
“The monitors are in the office of the Brigade Commander, office of the state director of SSS, office of the governor, office of the commissioner of police. So for Christ’s sake, tell me how you will use it for campaign.
“You can see a lot of mischief. As usual, people will try to dent your image to show that this man is not as transparent as he claims after all. We have argued about the first aircraft we bought, that is no longer a story. We did not buy two jets.”