The leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has expressed uncertainty regarding the current political status of former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
Tony Okocha, the state caretaker committee chairman, addressed reporters on Tuesday, July 23, stating that the former Rivers State governor appears to have distanced himself from the APC.
When questioned about Amaechi’s status within the party, Okocha, who previously served as Chief of Staff during Amaechi’s governorship, recounted an incident where Amaechi reprimanded the party’s state secretary for inviting him to a stakeholders’ meeting and instructed that no such invitations be sent to him in the future.
“I have no question to answer. I was Chief of Staff to Rotimi Amaechi, recall that at one point he got into Law School and after one year in Law School he became incommunicado. You are also aware that after the presidential primary election, he disappeared into thin air,” Okocha said.
“So whether he is still a party member or not I wouldn’t know because all the meetings we called, I give you an example of a meeting we called for all the former governors and ministers, he (Amaechi) sent a message to the Secretary of the party and warned him never to dare send him a message about the party again.”
He added;
“So when you meet him, ask him where he belongs. For me, I don’t know where he belongs.” Okocha also dismissed claims that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has control over the APC in Rivers State.
“When I hear this I laugh because Wike is a member of PDP, an unrepentant PDP. We are APC here. Will anybody suggest that because Mr. Wike is a minister under our government of APC we should be at daggers with him?
“Wike didn’t attend our meetings. I have briefed you here, we have held meetings of stakeholders, but Wike was never there. So at what point does he influence APC in Rivers State? His influence, as much as you know, is because he is a minister under an APC government, so we can’t be in enmity with him. But to say that he influences us, how? Does he pay our bills? Or does he attend our meetings? The answer is no.”
