The lawmaker representing Rivers South-East Senatorial district, Magnus Abe, on Friday claimed that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi once asked him to bomb the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
He said this while rubbisshing Amaechi’s claim that he was working with the State Governor, Nyesom Wike against the interest of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
In a statement he signed, Abe, who is a factional governorship candidate of the APC in the state said: “I have received several calls this morning that the the Minister of Transportation Rt Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi was on air this morning alleging that I am being used by Gov Wike to destabilise the APC in Rivers state.
“It’s unfortunate that the only time we met, at the office of the national chairman of the APC to try to find some working solution to crisis in the party, the Hon Minister of Transportation, Rt Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, spent over two hour abusing me, and calling me names.
“He did not mention Rivers state or the APC once in the course of his entire diatribe. The national chairman could not call him to order or remind him of the purpose for the meeting that day. Instead the party was bullied into participating in an illegality.
“Today, rather than discuss how we can come together despite our differences to mobilise Rivers people to vote for our party and our President, Minister Amaechi was busy telling Rivers people that I am being used by Governor Wike.
“Amaechi as governor worked with me and he is aware that several times he ordered me to do things that I considered wrong, or incompatible with my principles, I not only refused to carry out such orders but I always told him to his face that I would not do them and I never did.
“When he ordered me to go arrange to bomb the INEC office in Port -Harcourt after the 2015 elections. I told him to his face that I cannot be part of any action that would involve violence and death because of politics, when he ordered the attacks on GDI at the time Governor Wike started GDI in Rivers state, Gokana was the first local Government in Rivers state that disobeyed that order, even though there were those hell bent on carrying out his orders in Gokana at time.
“So Minister Amaechi knows from personal experience that I cannot be used by anybody to do something I do not believe in. His refusal as a leader to accept responsibility for his actions is the reason the party is in this state. The bulk of the fight against Wike in 2015 was in my senatorial district, I led the fight in person from the front even in the face of clear personal danger. It is unfortunate that rather than face the real issues the Minister has continued to engage in name calling, inciting violence, and abusing those that can help to find solutions.”
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