Assassination Plot Against Amaechi’s Man: Is It A Fuss?

By Our Correspondent

It was perhaps in line with a new vista that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State on collecting his certificate of return after the controversial elections that returned him to power gave out the olive branch to his many political traducers.

In a statewide broadcast following the announcement of the governorship election result, Wike had said:
“I therefore appeal to the APC and the Minister of Transportation to join hands with us to move our dear State forward. We cannot as leaders continue to remain divided and expect Government to deliver on its responsibilities to our people.

“Let us from henceforth seek the common ground instead of allowing our differences to be exploited to retard our march to progress. I appeal to our people to eschew all acts of acrimony, criminality, unrest, and violence throughout the state.”

The minister of transportation and leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi was to reiterate that point in his Easter message when he called on those who lost during the recent elections not to give up hope.

He said:

“I appeal to all who truly love our dear Rivers State to join hands in building the state, irrespective of their party affiliations.

“No amount of provocation or even threats should challenge the Rivers spirit of oneness, unity and harmony in you.

“To the youths, I urge you not to see crime as an escape route from the difficult times we are going through in Rivers State today. I am confident that with resilience and prayer, you can always pull through.”

It was, however, in the midst of these moves for reconciliation that a chieftain of the APC, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, a chieftain of the APC punctured the serenity with his petition of an alleged assassination against him.

Eze, who is known as being Amaechi’s alter ego in his petition put the blame for the assassination plot at Senator Magnus Abe who he said was working in cahoots with Wike against Amaechi.

Eze was quick to link a collaboration between Abe and Wike on the point that both of them worked to frustrate Amaechi and the mainstream of the APC from fielding candidates in the recent General Election. Abe was at the head of the dissenting group within the Rivers State chapter of the APC that stopped the mainstream from presenting candidates. It was a development that was heartily welcomed by Wike and the mainstream of the PDP.

“Senator Magnus Abe has been angry that I exposed how he teamed up with elements within and outside Rivers State to ensure that APC in Rivers state did not field a candidate in the just concluded general elections and how he has ceaselessly castigated and impugned the personality of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the immediate past Governor of Rivers state and the incumbent Minster of Transportation.

Claiming that Abe has a grouse with him Eze on account of his close affinity with Amaechi and President Muhammadu Buhari, he said:
“This is the same man who happened to be his benefactor and mentor. I have been severally threatened by the Senator and his boys over my defense of the Minster and my exposing their plots against him by teaming up with PDP elements within and outside Rivers State to promote the candidates of PDP in the last elections including even the presidential ambition of Atiku Abubakar all because of a desperate hope of making Atiku’s ministerial cabinet.

“Senator Abe and his group got more incensed by the recent press statement by me, exposing how he (Abe) is assisting Governor Wike of Rivers state to recruit other Nigerians to malign and destroy the person of the Minster of Transportation, so that he will not be renominated by President Buhari into his second term tenure. An exercise in futility. 

“To expose their intentions, the group, through one Augustine, an associate of Senator Magnus Abe and speaking for his cohorts, called me on Saturday in morning (number withheld)  to say that they have set up a militia committee to monitor and kill me and all members of my family for what I am writing about their principal, Senator Abe. Using his exact words he said “you can no longer run because wherever you are we will fish you out and deal with you accordingly. We have taken enough of your madness. You may wish to report this to the IGP but he can’t secure or save you. You will know why we are called the Vultures”.

Eze further expressed surprise over the threat against his life and that of his family saying, “I don’t know what I did to warrant this type of threat, apart from exposing the plots by Abe on Amaechi. I am standing against his dirty politics of destroying APC in Rivers State.

Eze not minding reporting this issue appealed to both President Muhammadu Buhari and the Acting Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Adamu Mohammed, to assist to investigate and secure his life and that of his family before any harm is done to them, considering the security challenges both in Rivers state and the nature of the men we are dealing with”, Eze said.

The development has now thrown questions into what was considered to be the olive branch extended by the major traducers in Rivers State.

Responding during a programme on a radio station, Abe said the alleged assassination plot was false and does not have anything to do with him, saying that Eze was only playing a game which he (Abe) is not prepared to dignify with a response.
Abe said: “Why should I be angry about this and go into any kind of argument with Eze, I know the game he is playing and he is not a threat to me, and by politics, the last thing I want is for anybody to associate me with what I will consider to be stupidity; because, first of all, Augustine, his name is known, his identity is known, if he calls you and have a discussion with you and you have your own perception of what you think he said and you feel threatened by it, you take it to the police.

“They had a discussion and nobody threatened him but if he feels that, they are both adults. How does that involve Senator Abe? So what Eze is trying to do is to demarket me.”

 And For More Nigerian News Visit GWG.NG