…Says Nigeria Has Completely Collapsed Under President’s Watch
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and a political ally of former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze has cautioned the Rivers state chapter of the party under the caretaker committee chairman, Chief Tony Okocha to restrain from casting aspersions on the person of the former Governor Amaechi.
Eze on Sunday was reacting to a statement credited to Okocha who was quoted as saying that, “there is an intention to throw up Amaechi’s man and then he (Amaechi) becomes the APC leader and then uses the APC to fight Mr. President in 2027. We will never allow that”, adding that (Emeka) “Beke has shot himself in the leg by also referring to Amaechi as leader of the party in Rivers and the South-South. A man who refused to cooperate with President Tinubu then as presidential candidate. A man who worked for the opposition”.
Chief Eze warned against some persons working surreptitiously to make Amaechi a subject of lampoon through smear campaigns and defamatory insinuations and calumnies in a bid to reduce him in the estimation of Nigerians.
Rebuffing Okocha over his claim that the former Rivers Governor intends to use the Rivers APC Chairman, Chief Emeka Beke to fight Tinubu in 2027, Eze reminded that “the cascade of administrative ineptitude, policy summersaults and multi-layer corruption that has fanned the embers of hyper-unemployment, insecurity, food price hike and more form a veritable mountain of weapons with which Nigerians are armed to fight and oust Tinubu from office in 2027”, stressing that “engaging in avoidable tussles is not in the character of the former Transportation Minister who has never struggled for power”.
He said that those who formed APC can ascertain who truly is the Leader of APC in Rivers state and the South-South, noting that at the formation of APC, Tinubu was made the National Leader of APC while Amaechi emerged South-South leader and despite the Buhari’s entrance as President, Tinubu clinged to his position as national leader.
Eze reminded that the judgment delivered by Justice Sika H. Aprioku of the State High Court in Port Harcourt was comprehensive and covered the field, leaving no vacuum for the appellate Court upturn given the depth of the reasons given for granting the reliefs sought by the aggrieved party officers.
“Simply, they sought the court’s interpretation of the APC Constitution via Originating Summons on the ground of their unlawful ouster from the various offices into which they were congressionally elected and to which the usurpers claimed title.
“The Court was of the view that the appointment of agent Okocha and his collaborators by Ganduje was ultra vires and in gross violation of the party’s Constitution.
“Beyond being ultra vires of the APC Constitution, the High Court was also clear on its stand about the unlawful appointment of a makeshift committee to replace a democratically elected Executive Committee of the State Chapter on the unsubstantiated allegation of anti-party conduct at the 2023 polls; as same was in clear breach of the right of the reinstated party officials to fair hearing as guaranteed under the Nigerian Constitution and therefore cannot stand. This very are judgment is not the type that can be upturned at appeal”, he said.