Leading the crowd in singing gospel songs and dancing, Amaechi said he would decide where to go after wide consultations.
Amid cheers by the people, he said he would consult his arch political foe, President Goodluck Jonathan, among others, before deciding to join APC.
Addressing the crowd, which joined him in receiving the APC leaders in Government House, Port Harcourt, Amaechi said: “I will consult the president. I will. He is from our zone. I will consult all the consultables.”
He said after the consultations, he would come back to the people because they are important.
He said the day he decides to join APC, he would ask the president to come and address Rivers people at the Olympic- sized 40,000 capacity stadium he is building at the Greater Port Harcourt City.
Amaechi, who has been having a running battle with the state’s Commissioner of Police, Mr Mbu Joseph Mbu, urged the youths to be prepared to rise up against police impunity by using “peoples’ power”.
He said he was impressed with the way the youths dared the police at the Port Harcourt Airport junction when they were barred from going into the place to receive the visiting APC leaders.
Amaechi invited those who accused him of collecting N1.9trillion in federal allocation without nothing to show for it to a public debate, promising to show them the projects he has so far executed.
An APC leader, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, described Amaechi as “a bridge builder.”
Buhari praised Amaechi for the projects he has so far executed, especially in education, saying: “Education is the greatest thing a good leader can give to his people”.
He said 2015 would be a watershed because there would be a lot of work for people to do in this country then.
Another APC leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said they were in the state to urge the people to ask Amaechi to lead them to the party.
Tinubu also praised the leadership qualities of Amaechi as a former Speaker and leader of the Nigerian Conference of Speakers, describing him as a progressive.
The country, he said, could not develop on the altar of intimidation, harassment and lies, pointing out that Amaechi is focused and would not have been elected governor without the peoples’ support.
Amaechi, he said, was being persecuted because he was fighting for the assets, toils, oil lands, and revenue of Rivers, adding: “A man who stands to be cheated is not a man, he is a pig.”
Tinubu said the APC leaders were impressed with the way Amaechi had been transforming the state, especially in education, pointing out that they had been taken round to see some of the projects the governor has executed.
Amaechi, he said, had given Rivers children “the greatest weapon against poverty, education; given our women pre-natal and ante natal care at the rural level before the world; transforming and renewing our infrastructure in an aggressive and radical manner.
“We have seen Port Harcourt emerge as the bed of flowers, the Garden City again. Just a drive through, we have seen the emancipation of the people. We thank you for the support.”
APC Interim National Vice Chairman, Southsouth Chief Tom Ikimi said he had known Amaechi for 25 years as one who stands on his belief.
Ikimi said APC’s registration caused a stir at the national level because it offered the people an alternative platform to pursue their ambition, adding: “Since we now have an alternative platform, there is nothing they can do to you.”
APC Interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande said the party’s visit had debunked the notion that Amaechi has no followers, seeing the “mammoth crowd that came to receive us.”
Describing Amaechi as “a leader”, Akande said: “We will not go home without asking you to ask him to join APC because it is the party for the courageous.”
Lawmakers from the state, represented by Senator Magnus Abe, Hon Andrew Uchendu of the House of Representatives and Speaker of the House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Dan-Amachree urged Amaechi to begin talks with the APC leaders, promising to follow him any where he goes because they trust him.
The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) made up of the 23 local government chairmen in the state, represented by Hon. Oji Ngofa of Eleme Local Government Area, also assured Amaechi of their support.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Deputy National Chairman, Dr Sam Sam Jaja, praised the people for coming out in large numbers to welcome the APC leaders.
Source: The Nation
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