The All Progressives Congress on Thursday refuted allegations against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu and his counterpart in the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Nguru Usani, for championing the recent threat by the Niger Delta Avengers to resume hostility in the oil-rich region.
According to the ruling party, there was no iota of truth in the allegation credited to the leader of the Niger Delta Coalition and chieftain of the APC, Mr. Young Piero.
It said the allegation was a plot to blackmail the two ministers.
Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Asaba, the Delta State Chairman of the APC, Jones Erue, said it was on record that the two ministers and the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Office, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh, had consistently worked to promote peace in the region.
Erue said the “party finds the allegation as spurious and unfounded,” adding that a disciplinary action had already been initiated against Piero who had equally failed to honour an invitation by the State Working Committee to substantiate the allegation.
He added, “We know that this faceless group, the NDC and its faceless leader, Young Piero, are constantly harassing the minister seeking one favour or the other. And since they could not get it through the backdoor, they have resorted to attacking their persons. The party frowns on this and we will no longer tolerate it.
“I want to let you know that we immediately invited the said Young Piero to appear before the SWC to explain why he should not be sanctioned for standing down the truth and using blackmail to defame individuals from the region. But he refused to show up because he knows what he has done.
“If I may borrow the words of Mr. President, he has crossed the red line. And since he disrespected the party, we want to initiate a suspension order and a disciplinary action will follow. We will follow the constitutional order in this matter because anything that brings disrepute to the party is anti-party.”
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