A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has revealed details of what happened in the party when President Muhamadu Buhari reappointed Rotimi Amaechi as Director General of his 2019 re-election campaign.
The former spokesman of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (N-PDP) narrated how forces in the APC swiftly moved against the Minister of Transport.
In a statement sent to DAILY POST at the weekend, Eze recalled that Amaechi’s appointment on January 3, 2018 “marked the strongest indication that the Nigerian leader would seek re-election in 2019.”
He said: “Immediately after the announcement of Amaechi’s appointment, those who didn’t want him as DG went to work to ensure that it was reversed.
“Some APC stakeholders reportedly opposed to the re-appointment of Rotimi Amaechi as President Buhari’s campaign Director General in the 2019 re-election bid moved into action.
“They argued that as a sitting governor and chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) when he held the position of Director-General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation in 2015, Amaechi had enormous power which is not so now that he is just a member of cabinet.
“The move against Amaechi as the president’s campaign DG is being anchored on a narrative that the position should be held by a serving governor.
“But they failed to understand that majority of APC governors, ministers and members of the National Assembly were already working with Amaechi to advance the re-election of Mr. President.
“One of the reasons Amaechi is being opposed is this rumour that he has a presidential ambition in 2023 and that as Buhari’s campaign manager, he would leverage on the connections.
“The struggle of Amaechi retaining his office as the DG of Buhari Campaign Organisation was laid to rest on 1st August, 2018 when he conducted President Buhari round the proposed Campaign Office in Abuja.
“Although, in the unfolding scenario, Amaechi’s major concern is to prospect for Buhari’s re-election, yes, an encore, yet the possibilities of a repeat performance of the 2015 victory are great and likely to be pervasive, other things being equal. Otherwise, the situation may be dicey. Nevertheless, Amaechi is certainly a rampart for effective prosecution of Buhari’s re-election battle.”
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