Senator Magnus Abe, member of the Nigeria Senate representing Rivers South-East Constituency, Rivers State recently spoke on Honourable Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers State and now Minister of Transportation.

“Let me use the opportunity of this visit to address some issues in our great party, the APC in Rivers State and to say clearly for the record that there are no members of the party, including myself, that is disputing the leadership of my friend, the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. We are not disputing with him who is the leader of the party. He is the leader and will continue to be the leader of our party in Rivers State.”

Speaking further Senator Abe said, some people are saying that his ambition to become governor of Rivers State in 2019 is the problem in the party. While others are claiming that they have asked him (Abe) to wait and build the party but he has refused to wait. Therefore, he is the one scattering the party because of his desire to be governor.

“I stand in front of my people, here, today, and declare that I don’t tell lies. I am not a liar. The story that I am scattering the party in the state because of my governorship ambition is not true. The problem is simple. We have heard some people saying all elected members of the party got their tickets because Amaechi endorsed them, therefore, everyone who has an ambition should wait until he endorses him or her.”

“The arguments some people are putting forward are that any person who would not wait for the leader, (Amaechi), to endorse him or select him, or her, to anoint him, or her, or who is saying something different is a bad person; or, a bad member of the party; the person should be removed, or suspended from the party; or the person should leave the party on his own volition. Some of us who feel that stopping some persons from aspiring to become what they want to become is an infringement on their fundamental human rights are saying no.

“Yes. We agree that it was the leader who gave us tickets and that the leader has always pointed to people and such persons have gone to contest elections; but we also know that politics is dynamic; and that our APC offers change. How do we convince the people of Rivers State that we, too, can change?”

“And some people said no! It is not that the leader will not have a say; it is not that the leader will not have a say in the selection of candidates vying for election under the auspices of the party; but some people felt the party should allow interested members and aspirants to make their inputs. And some members turned that position to be a move against the leader of the party. And that anyone who says anything contrary to anything said by the leader of the party is anti-party or worse still, fighting Rotimi Amaechi. For me, I think that position is wrong. It is undemocratic and totally against the change mantra of the APC.”

“I am the biggest investment in the politics of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in Nigeria”.

On the resolve of the people of Ogoni to produce the governor of Rivers State in 2019, having been denied the opportunity in the past 50 years that the state was created, Senator Abe insisted that it was time for the Ogonis to produce the next governor of the state.

“Today, I don’t have to apologise for being an Ogoni son. I love my country, Nigeria. I am a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I love my country. I support my country, but if I was not from here, Ogoni, I will not be a Nigerian. It has been 50 years since Rivers State was created and nobody of Ogoni extraction has been governor, deputy governor or Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. And some are saying that it doesn’t matter. I stand here; today, to tell Rivers people that it, indeed, matters and we have no apologies to offer to anybody.”

“I hear that the PDP caucus in Ogoni has endorsed Governor Nyesom Wike that is their opinion. I also hear that the APC caucus has said that they have an opinion on the governor’s position, too. But the people of Ogoni also have their opinion and that opinion is that there must be justice in Rivers State.”