A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-South region and former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has dismissed as inconsequential, Senator Magnus Abe’s open counsel to Gov Nyesom Wike over his unguarded utterances and spurious claims against the APC-led Federal Government in his widely criticized State-wide broadcast.
In a statement made available to media houses on Monday, Eze said Senator Abe merely tried to divert attention from his crafty mien and antecedent in a failed attempt to present himself clean and unblemished to the public. Eze said Abe merely wants to disassociate himself from his bosom friend and political partner who is at the verge of imminent downfall, saying such was Abe’s stock-in-trade; always ditching friends in distress and finding a way to join a winner.
Abe had, in a statement made available to Media Houses, said; “Now is not the time to settle issues of supremacy between elected and unelected functionaries of government”. He went further to state: “I want to use this opportunity to publicly appeal to the Rivers State government to immediately seek and secure back channel lines of communication, and resolve any outstanding issues with the federal government through dialogue”.
Did Abe not seek to spike his new friend, Wike, by telling him in public that he (Wike) was not ‘wise’ in his actions? To tell your so-called friend in public that: ‘Wisdom is not weakness’ is simply to tell him in a nice way that he is not wise.
Abe told Wike publicly: “It is one thing to have a political dispute with an individual whose attitude and conduct a lot of people may not approve of, but it is a different matter for sub-national entity like Rivers state to challenge the sovereignty of Nigeria at this time when we should all be working together to combat an unseen but deadly enemy”. What is Abe attempting to do here? To turn the almightiness of the Federal Government against our own brother, this is the highest height of hypocrisy.
Abe had gone on to tell Wike: “I had earlier stated my determination not to be party to any action that will politicize our ability to confront the corona virus pandemic as a people and I maintain that position”.
Chief Eze reminded the reading public that it was Senator Abe, who connived with Gov. Wike and the PDP to deprive Rivers APC the opportunity of fielding candidates for the 2019 elections through a floodgate of litigations laced with injunctions and denied the electorate their chances of electing their preferred representatives in the parliament and in other positions in government.
Turning around to counsel one’s evil accomplice on civility and good conduct without self-contrition is merely pretentious, diversionary and unacceptable, Eze said.
Eze wonders if Abe have forgotten his group’s slogan insinuating that PDP is more organised than APC to warrant their movement to PDP “If we, too, after so much and nothing is happening, decide to move, that won’t make us bad people. If we can no longer organise ourselves and the powers-that-be are not helping matters, we will look at those who are organised if we must continue to play the game. There will be realignment of forces”. This was before the massive movement of Abe’s Group to PDP but let me ask, does it mean with Abe’s recent attack that Wike is no longer more organised?
Eze tasks Abe to tell Nigerians the fate of Senator Barry Mpigi, Peter Meedeh, Bariere Thomas, Alwell Onyesoh and several others whom he led to PDP and Wike after frustrating the electoral chances of the APC in Rivers State.
The APC chieftain said Abe is coming out now to criticize Wike because the deal he struck with him has been frustrated with the emergence of Austin Opara, as the preferred PDP guber candidate for 2023.
Eze cautioned Abe to continue enjoying his Wike, as his sudden criticisms and counsel only portray him as grossly unstable. Many already have the foreboding feeling that it may be terrible for Senator Abe if at the end he is neither a force in the APC nor in the PDP in 2023.
One wonders if Abe’s counsel to Wike is out of ignorance; whether he no longer know the antecedents of Wike and his type of politics for him to have yielded to the offer of such a satanic collaboration from a character like Wike to frustrate his acclaimed home, the APC, from fielding candidates and participating in the 2019 general elections. Or, is he expecting Wike to change at this period knowing very well that Wike is un-teachable.
Abe would not be regretting what Wike has turned Rivers State into today if he had allowed reasons to prevail and support APC during the election. It is too late for Abe and those that guided him into this misfortune and political wilderness as nothing will stop Wike from continuing to torture Rivers State and her people from misguided governance style of the governor and the attendant lack of peace”.
Eze wondered the premise on which Abe is advising Wike and sought to know whether Wike, out of magnanimity, appointed him one of his Special Advisers, or the feeling of frustration from the reckless abandonment he suffers from the governor after using him to achieve his selfish aim of making Rivers State a mockery and laughing stock among the States in Nigeria due to his visionless agenda has caught him up.
If by his utterances, Abe has fallen apart with Wike, Eze tasked the ex-lawmaker to explain to Nigerians what the fates of Chief Allwell Onyesoh and thousands of APC loyalists would be; those who out of his prompting joined PDP and the Wike administration.
“What about Senator Barry Mpigi who is now a Senator under the PDP banner?” Eze queried. “What will be the fates of Dr. Peter Meedeh and Bariere Thomas who are Abe’s allies and are today Commissioners and members of the Rivers State Executive Council. Will they drop from the Wike’s administration because their mentor cannot be criticizing Wike from the outside while they remained in the inside. Gov Wike would think they are leaking government secrets to their mentor to warrant those public attacks. Or, does Abe and his cohorts think Wike is dump to consider what he said as harmless advice? Be sure Wike will clearly read the signs and understand the meaning of your so-called advice” Eze further opined.
The party Chief counseled Abe thus: “You can’t eat your cake and have it. If Chief Nyesom Wike is the Wike that I know, he has moved on and if he has promised making you a Governor by 2023, forget about it as Chief Austin Opara has already been handed over the flag of PDP for 2023”.
“The damage you have caused Rivers State and her people will live with you.” Eze lamented.
Eze urged Abe not to bother to help President Buhari and his administration in the hands of Gov Wike. He highlighted that Wike’s confrontation and onslaught against the Federal Government or the APC doesn’t make any meaning either to the Party or the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as his attacks would not prevent the Federal Government from impacting on the lives of the people of Niger Delta region and Nigerians at large.
Eze maintained that all those who defiled every sound reasoning and conspired to put Wike into power against the sound leadership that APC would have provided will ever live the rest of their lives in torment and woe.
The media mogul counseled the people of Rivers State to continue to endure the hardship occasioned by the lack of direction and plans by the Wike administration as efforts are being made to assemble quality leadership that would take the state back to the golden rule of the Amaechi era.
