Former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili,
and the Minister of State, Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, on Thursday led chiefs
of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state that is opposed to Governor Rotimi
Amaechi to a closed-door session with President Goodluck Jonathan.
The meeting, which was held inside one of the
guest houses in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, was attended by a factional
state chairman of the party, Mr. Felix Obuah; the five anti-Amaechi members of
the state House of Assembly; the acting Deputy National Chairman of the PDP,
Chief Chibudom Nwuche; a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Austin Opara; a former Minister of Transport, Abiye Sekibo; Senator Lee Maeba
and Sergeant Awuse among other party chiefs.
In his remarks during the meeting, copies of
which was made available to journalists, Obuah said the party chiefs were
pained that Amaechi had remained the main champion of opposition in the country
against the President and the Federal Government.
He alleged that the governor had repeatedly
rebuffed all efforts aimed at making him to show remorse and respect the
President.
While apologising to Jonathan and his wife,
Patience, on the governor’s actions, Obuah said the people of the state were
not with Amaechi in his hostile attitude towards the President.
He said, “We are pained and our heart bleeds
today that the main champion of opposition in the country against Mr. President
is Governor Chibuike Amaechi.
“We do not know what has come over the young man.
Is it that he wants to destabilise the PDP before his eventual movement to his
new party, having been handed over the ACN/APC structure in Rivers State?”
Obuah said apart from showing disrespect to the
President, the governor is also attacking the Nigeria Police because the new
Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Joseph Mbu, is not doing his bidding.
In an interview with State House correspondents,
Obuah however insisted that there was no crisis in the state chapter of the
party.
On Amaechi’s threat to leave the PDP, Obuah said
nobody could stop the governor if he decides to leave.
Wike told journalists that the problem with
Amaechi was because he did not have the party structure.
He said, “That the governor does not have the
party structure does not make him comfortable.”
On the situation in the state, Odili said, “What
is important is for us to recognise that at any point in time respect for
authority, respect for the rule of law and discipline are the guiding
principles that will make us run whatever system or societies we are running in
an orderly, disciplined fashion.”
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Commissioner for
Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, explained that it was
wrong for Obuah to say that Amaechi was opposing the President of the country.
Semenitari maintained that Amaechi had always being
in support of Jonathan and wondered why the state PDP chairman would accuse the
governor of antagonising the President.
She said, “I don’t really know if Mr. Obuah
really campaigned for the President. I hope that our memory is not short as the
governor has always been there to support the President. Governor Amaechi is
not opposed to Mr. President,” Semenitari said.
She also dismissed Obuah’s insinuation that the
governor was trying to destabilise the PDP before moving to another party,
insisting that Amaechi remained a member of the PDP and has no plan to defect
to another party.
Source: Punch
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