The Rivers State faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed uncertainty over the current political status of Rotimi Amaechi, the former Minister of Transportation.
Tony Okocha, the state
caretaker committee chairman, addressed reporters on Tuesday, July 23, stating
that the former Rivers State governor appears to have distanced himself from
the APC.
When questioned about Amaechi’s
status within the party, Okocha, who previously served as Chief of Staff during
Amaechi’s governorship, recounted an incident where Amaechi reprimanded the
party’s state secretary for inviting him to a stakeholders' meeting and
instructed that no such invitations be sent to him in the future.
"I have no question to
answer. I was Chief of Staff to Rotimi Amaechi, recall that at one point he got
into Law School and after one year in Law School he became incommunicado. You
are also aware that after the presidential primary election, he disappeared
into thin air," Okocha said.
"So whether he is still a
party member or not I wouldn’t know because all the meetings we called, I give
you an example of a meeting we called for all the former governors and
ministers, he (Amaechi) sent a message to the Secretary of the party and warned
him never to dare send him a message about the party again."
He added;
“So when you meet him, ask him where he
belongs. For me, I don’t know where he belongs.” Okocha also dismissed claims
that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has control over the APC in Rivers State.
“When I hear this I laugh
because Wike is a member of PDP, an unrepentant PDP. We are APC here. Will
anybody suggest that because Mr. Wike is a minister under our government of APC
we should be at daggers with him?
“Wike didn’t attend our meetings.
I have briefed you here, we have held meetings of stakeholders, but Wike was
never there. So at what point does he influence APC in Rivers State? His
influence, as much as you know, is because he is a minister under an APC
government, so we can’t be in enmity with him. But to say that he influences
us, how? Does he pay our bills? Or does he attend our meetings? The answer is
no.”
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