The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has accused the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, of being behind the crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.
Wike further accused Amaechi, who is his immediate predecessor, of causing the crisis by plotting to prevent a senator, Sen. Magnus Abe, from contesting for the governorship of the state in 2019.
The governor made this known following comments by Amaechi that he (Wike) was sponsoring some people within the Rivers APC ranks against him in order to cause confusion within the party.
Amaechi had said, “Wike is panicking, sponsoring APC members to cause confusion; he must go in 2019.”
But Wike, who spoke through his Commissioner for Information and Communications Emma Okah on Sunday, said, “Amaechi should be man enough to search his conscience, drop his penchant for dictatorship and take blame for the crisis that has engulfed the APC in the state and leave governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike alone.”
The governor described his predecessor as a “confused man who is yet to learn that dictatorship has no place in a democracy”.
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He added, “Amaechi is the problem of APC in Rivers state. He is the one who dictates when members can aspire to hold any office; he is the one who has treated party members like they are his slaves and the consequence is that the party is factionalised into three camps.”
Distancing himself from the crisis rocking the party, Wike noted, “The present crisis rocking the APC originated from the minister’s insistence that a serving senator has no right to aspire to be governor of Rivers state and the unilateral appointment of the minister’s Lagos business partner as the preferred governorship candidate; without regard to the rights of other APC members to contest party primaries.
“As if that was not enough, the Minister of Transport has forced the APC in the state to adopt the unpopular indirect primaries; to achieve his narrow objective instead of the open primaries option demanded by majority of party members. Amaechi has brought ant infested wood into his house and he is reaping the visit of lizards.
“It is, therefore, reckless for the minister to accuse Wike of sponsoring crisis in the APC unless the minister is not aware that he cannot beat a child and expect him not to cry,” Okah added.
On whether Wike has developed Rivers state, Okah said “it is pointless arguing with a man who does not see what everyone else sees; hear what others hear or feel what others feel,” and also, noted that Wike holds the gold medal in project execution among his peers since 2015.
“Despite Amaechi’s unsuccessful efforts to pull down the Wike administration, he has refused to show what he has done for Rivers since he became a super Minister in 2015.”