•APC gov leads war against Abuja politicians
…Assembles legal team
•Real reasons behind Rivers gov’s travails
As his adversaries fine-tune the plot to impeach him, Rivers State
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has assembled his war cabinet to give
them a good fight to stall the move. Spearheading the battle against
Amaechi’s impeachment is an All Progressives Congress (APC) governor.
Gov. Amaechi is also set to challenge his suspension by the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in court.
Already, he has assembled a legal team, most of who have voluntarily
offered to defend democracy and the rule of law. He was suspended for
alleged anti-party activities this week.
Amaechi is expected to file papers before a Federal High Court any
moment from now. “Amaechi’s position is that democracy can only thrive
where the rule of law is allowed to take its normal course.
He has gone through the wheel of justice in the past and he won,”
said a source who referred to Amaechi’s mandate being restored by the
Supreme Court.
But as the storm gathers around the governor, he has intensified
efforts to avert possible impeachment by the forces opposed to him. Part
of his strategies is to rally round governors sympathetic to his cause
to embark on a series of co-ordinated resistance to the planned move
which may put the heat on his adversaries to drop the plan.”
They are to mobilise resources for a counter-offensive, deploy the
resources and men in and around Rivers State, engage the youths, men and
women, and selected leaders of thought in the state not to buy into the
growing anti-Amaechi sentiments. Plans are also afoot for them to
complement on-going activities by some groups in the state who are
opposed to Jonathan to steady Amaechi’s government in the face of the
current onslaught against him,” it was learnt.
An APC governor is leading the new offensive. The governor, who has
himself survived a recent impeachment plot from Abuja where a whopping
three billion Naira was said to have been voted for the project, is said
to have given Amaechi survival tips and full reassurance of support.
Anti-Amaechi forces are, however said to be aware of this development
and are moving swiftly to nip it in the bud by also extending their
arsenals on such states to distract them and ultimately alienate
Amaechi. The governor in this new push is, however, faced with an
obstacle as Jonathan’s forces have already penetrated the entire
South-South and South-East geo political zones, with virtually all the
governors in these states opposed to Amaechi.
As the standoff enters its second month, Daily Sun further learnt
that efforts are in top gear to settle the rift “in a matter of weeks.”
Meanwhile, real reasons also emerged yesterday why the Presidency is not
at peace with Gov. Amaechi which has snowballed into political tension
and intrigues within the PDP.
The governor’s travails had been traced to two major grouses held
about the President by Amaechi. Contrary to the belief that the feud was
as a result of speculated vice presidential ambition of Amaechi, and
related petty family issues, competent sources close to Amaechi told Daily Sun
that the aborted import duty waiver granted Amaechi to bring in two
helicopters, and the slow pace of re-modelling work at the Port Harcourt
International Airport were the major grouses harboured by Amaechi
against the president.
The governor, it was learnt, believed that the President was using a
minister against him. Amaechi has variously told concerned friends,
associates and leaders of the PDP who have been piling pressure on him
to drop his battle axe that the two core issues are the underpinnings.
Ahead of the controversial chairmanship election of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum (NGF), Jonathan was allegedly contacted over his
grouses with a view to mending fences with Amaechi and it turned out
that he was unaware of them. “He summoned the minister and another top
government official for briefings to straighten out the issues.
Amaechi who was at the Villa at the time to see the Vice President
over an unspecified issue was called into the meeting. Those issues he
raised were smoothened out and he left the meeting obviously satisfied,
but surprisingly continued his battle for the NGF chairmanship some days
late,” Daily Sun was told.
Current assaults on Amaechi by the PDP and the Presidency stemmed
from a conviction that there were other underlying grouses different
from what he had told them. Special Adviser to the President on
Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, believes that Amaechi has been hijacked
by the opposition, and enemies of the President.
“How else do you explain a situation where someone would defy reason and engage everyone,” he said.
source: the sun
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