*Tells Anabs Sara-Igbe to stop lame narrativeĀ
…God will determine Amaechi’s Presidency and not any man
“Whatever Wike may have achieved in his political life should be attributed to Amaechi, including the mushroom appointments he has made so far for his so called loyalists,”-Eze
By Olawale Lamina
A public affairs commentator and National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, on Tuesday, lashed out at one of Rivers state elder statesmen, Anabs Sara-Igbe, for attempting to draw a line of comparison between two former Rivers State governors, Rt. Hon. (Barr.) Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi (CRA) and Barr. Nyemsom Wike, the incumbent Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Elder Sara-Igbe may have drawn the ire of Amaechi’s political loyalist, Chief Eze, when he pointed out what he described as a noticeable difference between Amaechi and Wike in terms of attracting federal appointments for their associates and why Niger Delta people may not support the latter’s presidential ambition.
In a statement, Eze, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), wondered why a respected prominent son of Rivers State will throw caution to the wind, by comparing Amaechi and Wike.
According to Chief Eze, there is no basis for comparison between the two personalities, “because history and posterity have always been kind to Barr. Rotimi Amaechi, for contributing immensely towards the development, peace and unity of Rivers State and the entire Niger Delta region.
In his argument, Elder Sara-Igbe, a prominent Ijaw leader had opined that Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has been able to bring several opportunities to individuals who aligned with him.
Dwelling more on the issue of comparison between theĀ two Rivers State sons and past governors, Chief Eze described Elder Sara-Igbe’s opinion “as attention-seeking and a lame narrative solely aimed at gauging whether peoples negative perception of Wike, due to his erratic behaviour is dipping.”
An angry Eze who made his position known about the controversy fuelled by the statement attributed to the Ijaw elder said: “I respect elder Sara-Igbe, but I want him to know that you cannot twist history, no matter how hard you try to be evasive.
“Light and Darkness are two parallel lines that cannot intersect. Can you compare light and darkness?
“Certainly, the answer is no. So, it’s out of place to attempt to compare Amaechi and Wike.
“Amaechi is likened to light, whereas, majority of Nigerians see Wike, due to his above-all status, as darkness personified.
“It beats my imagination that somebody will use personal aggrandizement, and hope for appointments to family members and cronies as a yardstick to draw comparison.”
Notwithstanding his respect for elder Sara Igbe based on the latter’s role in the politics of Niger-Delta is concerned, Chief Eze restated his loyalty to his political associate and benefactor stressing, “the fact remains that whoever talks ill or tries to cast aspersion on the person of Amaechi, definitely touches me in the wrong way as a person.
“As much as I respect him for whom he is in the politics of Rivers State, being one of those elders most of us are emulating, but to attempt either to compare light (Amaechi) with darkness (Wike), to some of us is, baseless, unacceptable, sad, unfortunate and an insult to Amaechi.”
Eze went ahead and posited that the two political leaders are poles apart in their approaches to issues, arguing that no basis for comparison exists between the two.
The APC Chieftain also responded to what he described as Elder Sara-Igbe’s wild goose chase, submitting that, ” you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand,” while observing that “The comparison is incurably defective because the so called Wike, served as Chief of Staff to Amaechi when he was the Governor of Rivers State.
“The same Amaechi, nominated Wike to President Goodluck Jonathan, to be appointed as Minister of Education (State).
“If not for Amaechi’s humane, good heart, kind and calm nature, Nyesom Wike could not have reached the political zenith he is assumed to have achieved in his political journey so far.”
He emphasized that whatever Wike may have achieved in his political life should be attributed to Rotimi Amaechi, including what he regarded as “mushroom appointments he has made so far for his so called loyalists.”
Eze confronted the Rivers Elder on logic stating that,Ā “In this regard, I wish to beg elder Sara-Igbe to name one single sound political appointment that Wike inspired that could dwarf the appointments attracted by Amaechi to his loyalists including the appointment of Wike as a Minister and Chief Udi as a Minister.
“Has Wike made anybody a Minister? Let me highlight just few of some of the political appointments Amaechi made not necessarily as a Governor but as the most outstanding Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that earned him the Thisday Minister of the Decade award covering the tenure of Wike as a Minister,” he said, noting that, “through Amaechi in 2015, Senator Magnus Abe, Senator Andrew Uchendu and a couple of Federal and State Lawmakers of Rivers extraction were duly elected and we know the inputs these leaders made to the development of Rivers State.
“Which appointment has Wike made to be compared with that of Dr. Dakuku Peterside, a great son of Rivers State who was appointed the Director General of NIMASA and the magic he did, excelling under NIMASA will take twenty other Directors-General to achieve what he did.”
“My Elder Sara-Igbe may not understand that today many Rivers State sons and daughters are working in NIMASA, yet Amaechi has not contributed anything to the development of Rivers State,” Eze respectfully reminded the Ijaw leader.
As if to further knock off elder Sara Igbe’s comparison in concrete terms, Eze enumerated instances and reasons Nyesom Wike’s praising singing andĀ the argument why Niger Delta people will not support Amaechi in his presidential ambition became unnecessary.
“It may interest my most respected Elder to note that Hon. Asita, another great son of Rivers State was appointed the Chairman of NIMASA Board through the instrumentality of Amaechi.
“From 2015 till date, Dr. Davies Sonkote, Hon. Brown Onari and others were key players in Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
“Today, through these great leaders, Amaechi influenced many sons and daughters of Rivers State to be employed in NPA.
“… that a daughter of Rivers State Dame Maureen Tamuno, through Amaechi …was appointed the Ambassador to Jamaica and many Rivers State sons and daughters are aides to this great woman then.
“Before her appointment, Ambassador Oji Nyimenuate Ngofa, another great son of Rivers State was Ambassador to the Netherlands and many Rivers State sons and daughters benefited from his appointment.
“It is also on record that the following great sons of Rivers State, Prince Chibudom Nwuche, Chief Victor Giadom, late Hon. Aso Wenah, Fred Igwe, Prof. Lawrence Chuku and countless others due to the influence of Amaechi, were all members of one Federal Board or the other.
“The one that gives Wike sleepless night is the appointment of Prof. Henry Ugboma, the former CMD of UPTH, an unassuming and smooth operator who has employed more Rivers State sons and daughters than those employed within the seven miserable years of Wike as Governor of Rivers State state.
“Today, through Amaechi, two great sons of Rivers State, Senator Andrew Uchendu and Prof Georgewill Owunari are the Pro-Chancellor and Vice Chancellor respectively of University of Port Harcourt and sadly your great Wike ensured that Senator Uchendu a great son of Rivers State was removed and replaced by one of his stooges from Abia State,” Eze explained.
The media personality stressed that Amaechi’s presidential aspiration remsins in God’s hands and no human being will decide otherwise if God approves it.
The former National Publicity Secretary of the nPDP argued that while Amaechi was a Minister, he did not bring the controversy and embarrassment generated by the imposition of the state of emergency on Rivers State.
Eze concluded by posing rhetorical question to the elder and urging caution by saying, “Were you not around to see all the projects and policies that Amaechi set up in making Rivers State, one of the most outstanding States in Africa both in Agriculture, Education, Security, Health, Tourism, all destroyed and thwarted by Wike?
“Uncle, I plead with you to refute this your misguided, filthy and incongruous statement and stand to avoid history listing you amongst those that are in support of darkness instead of light.
“These not withstanding, I do agree with my most respected elder statesman that powerful political positions are usually expected to translate into tangible benefits for loyal followers as many politicians rely on these opportunities to strengthen their networks, reward loyalty, and consolidate their political base. ”
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