APC throws weight behind Amaechi, vows to reclaim Akwa Ibom

By Tony Akowe

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South-South has thrown its weight behind the nomination of former Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, as minister, saying those opposing his nomination would fail.

The party also vowed to reclaim what it described as its stolen mandate at the March 28 and April 11 elections held in Akwa Ibom State, alleging that it was robbed of victory at the governorship and national assembly polls in the state.
The National Vice Chairman in charge of the zone, Prince Hilliard Eta, in a statement made available to The Nation in Abuja, said in spite of what it called the unwarranted opposition of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators from the state and the state governor, Nyesom Wike, the party will stand solidly behind the governor to emerge as minister.
Describing the actions of Wike and the Rivers PDP as “simply embarking on a wild goose chase,” the statement said: “Amaechi is unjustly being witch-hunted and persecuted by the PDP machine in Rivers State led by Wike, because of his (Amaechi’s) role in resisting the evil machinations plotted against the good people of the state by the administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.
“Wike and his ilk cannot assume the triple role of the complainant; prosecution and judge in their case against Amaechi, as they have desperately shown in their several protests and attempts to thwart his emergence as a Minister of the Federal Republic.”
It decried the brazen desperation by the Wike-led PDP apparatus to demonise the former governor, adding, “Wike and his ilk were showing the world that it cannot even hide nor pretend on their dance of lawlessness carried over from their hey-days when the drums of impunity were conspicuously being beaten aloud.”
The APC noted that the barrage of petitions against Amaechi’s ministerial nomination and the predetermined report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry submitted to Wike at his behest “lend credence to the barefaced machinations to give a dog a bad name so to hang it.”
The statement added that the APC and the people of the South South are solidly behind Amaechi’s nomination as minister, while urging the leadership of the Senate to discountenance the claims by the Integrity Group, that submitted a petition against Amaechi, which accused the former governor of mismanagement and embezzlement of funds during his tenure.
On the party’s expectations on its petition against elections conducted in Akwa Ibom State in March and April, Eta stated that proceedings at the governorship elections tribunal and that of the National Assembly for Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, have clearly revealed that the APC was robbed of victory by the PDP in connivance with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Culled from The Nation newspaper