By Adedapo Adesanya
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Mr Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has condemned a press statement issued by former Senator from the state, Mr Magnus Abe, where he (Mr Eze) claimed the former lawmaker maligned him and the person of the immediate past Minister of Transportation, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
According to Mr Eze, the press statement, which was titled Change in Nigeria’s Democracy, Work in Progress, and issued by Mr Abe’s spokesman, Parry Saroh Benson, was set out to destroy the credibility of former River States Governor, who he said brought the former Senator into political limelight.
Highlighting the statement, Mr Eze said the quote attributed to Mr Abe that, “Rotimi Amaechi hired a propagandist Eze Chukwuemeka Eze to falsely malign and de-market him (Abe) in order to justify the unjustifiable injustice that was perpetrated on Rivers People during the last political dispensation,” was untrue.
The one-time National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) stated that Senator Abe lacked the right to speak or counsel Nigerians on the politics and tenets of democracy because he allegedly destroyed APC single-handedly in Rivers State and ensured that the party didn’t field any candidate during the 2019 general elections.
“For Abe to have adopted a gunpoint strategy of stating that if the gubernatorial ticket of APC is not given to him the party will not field any other candidate put him as an element and tool of anti-democracy and one that lacks powers or locus standi to speak on any democratic issue so far Nigeria is concerned,” Mr Eze echoed.
Mr Eze, further claimed that the former Senator was in league with Governor Nyesom Wike, a PDP Governor of Rivers State and aided the act by forming a Parallel Leadership of the party against the constitution and directive of the National Working Committee of APC, stating further that despite the disregard of the party’s directive, Senator Abe went ahead to ridicule the laid down constitution of the APC by suing the party rather than resorting to resolving the political parallels that exist in the party.
Addressing allegations as a propagandist, the party chieftain stated: “For Abe to continue to describe me as a hired Propagandist by Amaechi is not only very unfair and unfortunate to my person and personality.”
“It is sad that Abe instead of addressing most of the issues that I have presented to expose him for his wicked antics against APC and the man who made him politically prefers to run to the media for cover, forgetting that the media houses are fully aware of his unprincipled and devious plots against APC and those who have sacrificed their lives to put him in where he is today politically.,” he said.
Mr Eze, then called for Mr Abe to stop using the media as a tool for his agenda and apologize to the people of Rivers State for denying them a platform that he stated would have ushered in good governance instead of teaming up with Governor Wike.
Sympathizing with his political colleague, Mr Eze urged the former Senator to retrace his steps back to Mr Amaechi who he opined was Mr Abe’s mentor and has expressed willingness to welcome back into his political family.
Modupe Gbadeyanka