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| Chief Oby Ndukwe |
A deliberate ploy by his political enemies back home in Rivers State to divert attention from the DSS claims of the movement of N30bn from the Rivers State Treasury during the period of the Supreme Court trial of the Governorship legal tussle and another N5bn confirmed to have been given as bribe to some Supreme Court Judges.
Suddenly, the accused Judges are both accusing Rotimi Amaechi of being behind their ordeal. They allege in their suspicious letters that at some time in the past he had approached them to turn the wheel of Justice in favour of his preferred candidates with respect to Rivers, Abia, Akwa Ibom and Ekiti States.
Though there is no evidence provided yet, but it is a coincidence that Justice Ngwuta and Justice Inyang Okoro are singing the same tune long after the purported incidents of attempted bribery was carried out.
Obviously, this is a case of the biblical hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob. The rivalry between the two political parties in Rivers State is simply responsible for the renewed onslaught against Amaechi.
No one would have thought that the seeming moves to name Justice Mary Odili as the unseen hand behind the N5bn bribery of her colleagues at the Apex Court would spare Amaechi of any counter attacks.
The DSS had accused Justice Odili of approaching and begging her colleagues to accept the money in order to save her from becoming a widow, as the loss of Wike and PDP at the Supreme Court will result to her husband’s death.
While Justice Odili is yet to refute the allegation, her husband, Dr Peter Odili, former governor of Rivers State has gone to Court against Dakuku Peterside, a protege of Rotimi Amaechi over a libelous publication. Dakuku was said to have accused Dr Odili and his wife of masterminding the victory of Wike. He had based his claims on the public statement of Gov Wike who had urged his supporters to thank Dr Odili for calling him up at midnight and directing him who and who to meet while the matter lasted in Court.
Apart from the local Rivers politics, there are those on the side of the former President who are bent on rubbishing the war against corruption.
The easiest way is to pin one of Buhari’s key men, particularly Amaechi who played a major role in the emergence of Buhari as President.
It is not clear what the Amaechi group will do more so with the discordant tunes within the APC.
But those who want Amaechi to go down are said to be putting finishing touches on a mass movement to call for the resignation of sack of the Minister.
The battle is definitely going to be tough as this is exactly one year when the same group sought to stop Amaechi from being screened by the Senate and appointed Minister by President Buhari.
