For Amaechi, APC beckons

Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi

The recent rousing reception given visiting national leaders of the opposition All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has raised the stakes in the contest for power, writes Chukwudi Akasike.

Except for the All Progressives Grand Alliance in Anambra and the Labour Party in Ondo State, the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress appear to be the political parties to beat in the years ahead.

The PDP has since 1999 enjoyed unparalleled control of power at all levels In Rivers State. For more than a decade and a half, the state, which prides itself as the treasure base of the nation, can arguably pass for a one-party state.

Although political parties such as: the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria and All Nigeria Peoples Party, as well as the Accord Party co-existed, none of them could take on the ruling PDP.

But the merger of the ACN, CPC and ANPP into the All Progressives Congress has ultimately changed the political atmosphere in Rivers State in particular and in the nation in general. This is even more so as the nation prepares for the 2015 election.

The merger could have probably gone on unnoticed in Rivers if the ruling PDP was what is used to be. Internal wrangling among the party’s leaders is threatening to force it to share its glory with this new entrant.

Since an Abuja Court ruling which recognised Mr. Felix Obuah as the state chairman of the PDP, members of the state chapter of the party have been at each other’s throats.

Efforts to resolve their differences have so far failed with each of the warring factions holding its ground. The crisis degenerated into a point where the State Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and 27 members of the State House of Assembly were suspended by the party’s hierarchy.

An attempt by the aggrieved party members to form the New PDP faced a series of frustrations as security operatives took steps to stifle its operations. However, the emergence of the APC appears to have altered earlier projections.

A mammoth crowd, made up of mostly Amaechi’s supporters, gathered at the Port Harcourt International Airport to welcome the leadership of the APC to the State.

The opposition party leaders did not hide the fact that they were in Port Harcourt to “beg Amaechi” to join them.

Former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, APC leader and ex-governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, were among opposition leaders at the event. Buhari  who described Amaechi as a great asset to the people of the state in particular  and Nigeria in general, said what he saw in terms of projects has  increased his personal respect for the governor.

Buhari said “Governor Amaechi is a great asset to the people of the state and to the nation. We are at a crossroads and whichever way you try to look at it, there is going to be a change in Nigerian politics.

“If we remain divided, we may not achieve the aim to save this country; we decided to come together to make sure we salvage this country from mis-governance and to save material and human resources. We must acquire the capability as a people to organise ourselves and achieve our aims. Nigerian population is getting to 170 million and we must come together and make this country move again.”

Also speaking before a huge crowd at the Government House in Port Harcourt, Tinubu warned that the country would not progress in an atmosphere of intimidation, harassment and lies.

He dismissed insinuations that Amaechi did not have followers in the state. He said “We know he (Amaechi) couldn’t have been elected governor without the support of his people and we are educated enough to see the basis of his persecution.

“It (persecution) is because he (Amaechi) is fighting to protect the asset, revenue and resources of Rivers State. We have heard so much propaganda like you have heard. I know Rotimi Amaechi, I know that he is a progressive. I invite all of you to please ask Governor Amaechi to lead you to the All Progressives Congress.

“I know if there is a referendum here today, we will score 100 per cent. We are here so that we will continue that handshake; we will join hands to create economy for our people, create employment for our youths, develop their skills and compete with other African nations and make Nigeria the best.”

Shortly after the APC leaders spoke, members of the House of Assembly led by the Speaker, Mr. Otelemaba Amachree, appealed to the governor not to delay in joining the opposition party ahead of the 2015 general election. But Amaechi responded to the invitation of the APC leaders by saying he would consult the President and the people before deciding whether to join the APC or remain in PDP. According to him, “Before I join the APC, I will consult the President. I will. He is from our zone.”

Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Political Matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak, however advised the governor not to bother consulting the President over the issue. Gulak noted that since Amaechi did not consult the President before inviting leaders of the APC to a grand reception in his state, he should not bother to consult Jonathan before leaving the PDP to join his new-found friends.

He said “Governor Amaechi did not consult the President before inviting APC leaders to Rivers State and giving them tumultuous welcome, so he does not need to consult the President before joining APC because he knows that the President will not allow any PDP member to go to APC.

“Governor Amaechi is at liberty to join APC. This is belittling the issue. We are not small boys; we are in a serious business of politics.

“You cannot as a governor on the platform of PDP invite APC leaders to your state and make a show of it and now say that you will consult the President who is the leader of the PDP before you join APC.”

But the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, disagreed with Gulak. He described the President’s aide as a political neophyte. Okocha argued that Gulak was expected to have known that it would not be easy for the PDP politically if seven governors left the party. He explained that Amaechi’s decision to consult on whether to leave the ruling party for the APC or not showed that the Rivers chief executive was not a dictator.

“He (Gulak) is a political neophyte. He has not got the progress of PDP at heart and has portrayed himself as a beginner in politics, otherwise, how would he not know the political effect of seven governors leaving the PDP?

“If the PDP has 23 governors and seven are leaving the party, it is a sign that things are not well with it? On why Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi said he would consult, it is clear that the state governor is not a man who does something in the secret. He has said that he would call APC to talk to Rivers people if he decides to move to APC. What is there in consulting? It is to show that he (Amaechi) is not a dictator and that he reaches out to the people before taking decisions especially as they concern politics,” the governor’s aide added.

In response, the state chapter of the PDP said it was not jittery over Amaechi’s lavish reception for the national leaders of the APC. It described the governor as a spanner in the works of  PDP in Rivers. The party in a statement signed by the Special Adviser on media to the State Chairman, Mr. Jerry Needam, said it had been one controversy or another when the governor held sway as the leader of the ruling party in the state.

But a political analyst and human rights activist, Chief Jackson Omenazu, maintained that nothing was wrong if Amaechi decided to dump the PDP. According to Omenazu, the political ideology of the governor was different from what the PDP currently parades as principles. The Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights and former publicity secretary of the African Renaissance Party insisted that the fortunes of the PDP would be adversely affected if Amaechi left the party.

“Amaechi is a liberal socialist as against the PDP’s dry conservativeness. The man’s spirit has left the PDP. Unless there is a serious reform in the ruling party, I don’t see Amaechi in the PDP. If Amaechi leaves the PDP, then the party should forget Rivers State. By his performance, he is one of the governors that has helped to launder the image of the ruling party and should not have been treated in such an ignoble manner,” Omenazu said.

As the country’s political atmosphere continues to evolve ahead of the 2015 elections, supporters of   the Ikwerre-born politician are waiting for him to lead them into either remaining with the PDP or running into the warm embrace of the APC.