Tony John, Port Harcourt
A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe, has described his disagreement with leader of the party in the state and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, as political.
Abe, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by his spokesperson, Parry Benson, said Amaechi had publicly declared that he would not support his governorship aspirations.
He said: “I’m amused by some allegations and stories. For the records, the disagreement between me and Amaechi is political. He is the leader of the party; but, he has said publicly, on several occasions, that he can never support me.
“That means the entire country knows he cannot pretend to be neutral or an unbiased umpire in any matter in which my interest and the interests of those interested in me are concerned. Yet, as the leader, it is his responsibility to provide a level playing field for all players.”
Abe, who is the senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, insisted that those, who converged on the APC secretariat in Port Harcourt on Friday, May 4, 2018, were not thugs, but members and supporters of the party.
“The people he (Amaechi) is referring to as thugs and hoodlums, today, were the same people who were his heroes yesterday. They were the people we used to blockade the Rivers State judiciary, when his government was threatened. They were the people who slept for days outside the Rivers State House of Assembly, to protect his government.
“A lot of them were members of Save Rivers Movement who gave their all, to birth the APC in this state, and he knows a lot of them by name. But, today, they are thugs and hoodlums, because he is, now, the oppressor.
“As politicians and tomorrow, when we need voters, who will these people now branded thugs be? People paid for forms, they had their tellers and no one told them what was going on. They besieged the state secretariat for explanations.
“Instead of the leader to come and address them, they brought armed policemen to open fire on innocent party men and women. That attack led to the pandemonium at the secretariat.
“They were there from morning and there was no violence, until the police came and opened fire on APC members, who were totally peaceful. Who authorised the shooting, and why?” Abe asked.
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