By Okey Muogbo
A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze has expressed shock over attempts by Senator Magnus Ngei Abe to rewrite the history and genesis of the crisis that engulfed the Rivers APC which culminated in the exclusion of the party from the 2019 general elections.
In a statement made available to media houses on Sunday, Chief Eze, a close associate of both the Minster of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (CRA) and Senator Abe recanted his earlier stand never to comment on any issue pertaining to Senator Abe and his crave to relegate the party and Rt. Hon. Amaechi.
According to Chief Eze after listening and perusing through recent interviews granted by the former federal lawmaker as well as a Press statement issued by his Media Aide, where he dissipated much energy, trying hard to upturn the rudimentary issues that sparked the crisis in the Rivers APC he (Chief Eze) decided to speak up and set the records straight for the good of the reading public.
He recall that Abe had in an interview with Vanguard Newspaper, titled, “How my fight with Amaechi started~~Chief Senator Magnus Abe opens up!” preempted, predicated and premised on the Amaechi’s visit to his Abuja residence where he alleged that Amaechi asked him to kill any hope of becoming the state governor under the APC in 2019 was the genesis of the crisis of Rivers APC; whereas, his press statement issued by PARRY SAROH BENSON, his Media Aide quoted the Senator from his AIT Interview as saying: “…The origin of this whole problem was the disobedience to Court orders that brought the face-off between Rivers APC and the Nigerian judiciary. It has nothing to do with a third party. It has to do with behaviour of the people in the party…”
Eze said that these conflicting positions add credence to the assertion that Abe is skilled in twisting stories.
Said Eze, “It is unfortunate that Abe will like to rewrite the history of the crisis of Rivers APC by postulating that the crisis commenced from the visit of the Minister to his house which was primarily to plead with him to allow the party to be rebuilt.”
“My big friend and brother, Sen.Magnus Abe is begging the issue in his narrative. The real problem erupted when people started nursing ambitions that were creating schism in the party that was in dare need of repositioning.
“CRA’s only advice then was that there has to be a party first before ambitions could be realised. Let’s know when the rains started in order to seek proper shelter.
If there was discipline in the rank and file of Rivers APC at that time and CRA, the leader’s advice was heeded, the party would have been a winning machinery. Vaulting ambitions made reasons to take flight. Sad”, he contended.
“Senator Abe’s position that a faceoff between the Judiciary and the APC ignited the crisis is a mere myth, emanating from the abyss, Eze stated.
Chief Eze insisted that the crisis actually started when Senator Abe failed to clinch the APC ticket during the 2014 party Primaries which led to the mobilisation of youths from the Ogoni axis to protest the choice of Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside, as the consensus candidate for the 2015 gubernatorial election.
He recalled that Ogoni youths marched through the popular Azikiwe Road to the main gate of the Government House in Port Harcourt, insisting that the then Governor Amaechi betrayed the Ogoni interest by ‘anointing’ Peterside as the governorship candidate of the APC.
“The protesters, who had earlier blocked major points of the East-West Road in Eleme Local Government Area, chanted war songs, even as some of them threw stones that damaged some vehicles parked near the Government House.
“Most of us including the then Governor Amaechi were held hostage in the Government House by the protesting Ogoni youths.”
Eze quoted the Public Relations Officer of the Movement for the survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) then, Legborsi Esaen as stating, “Amaechi has betrayed the Ogonis. We have resolved to support any party that presents an Ogoni son as its governorship candidate. We are no longer prepared to play second fiddle in the politics of Rivers State. It’s either governorship or nothing”
“Governor Amaechi made us to defect from the PDP to the APC with hope to give us the governorship ticket.. he made us to fight the Federal Government. Governor Amaechi deceived us into following him and now he wants to marginalised us. Amaechi used us and dumped us.
“Why will he want to make somebody (Dakuku) from Opobo a Governor? Opobo is a single community. They are a minority. Why will he want us, the Ogonis who have four four Local Government Areas to concede to a minority?
“So we are saying that an Ogoni man must become the Governor of Rivers State in 2015.”
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