And the “Apostle of Peace threatens mayhem again. Here Gov Wike who is still bitter over the Day 2 meeting between Acting President Osinbajo and Rivers APC members.
“If not for the presence of Acting President, I wouldn’t have allowed them to hold that meeting. They know. Who born monkey? I wanted to go and scatter the place but I don’t want the Acting President to say that ‘so everything they say about this man is true’, I just said ‘satan get thee behind me”.
The body of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Rivers State abi South South zone should hide their heads in shame. You canonized the man yesterday and today, he is boldly threatening his former boss and predecessor on National Television.
Let’s get down to the story behind the scene.
The Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who’s been on a fact finding mission in the Oil Producing States was scheduled for yet another day with Rivers people. Like the visit in Delta State where he met with the people of Gbaramatu and Okerenko, the troubled home of ex warlord, Tompolo, Osinbajo was to visit the people of Kula and Soku in Kalahari axis, Umuechem in Etche LGA and Omoku axis in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA.
But I’m a rather surprising twist, the itinerary of the Ag. President was changed by the coordinating Minister, Ibe Kachikwu of the Petroleum Ministry.
The scheduled visit to the troubled communities was aborted while Osinbajo was made to visit three project sites of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. Recall that Osinbajo is of the APC while Wike is PDP. The O ccassion of the visit was an opportunity for Wike to reengage his politics with the party at the centre, APC. And the only possible means to achieve that is by arm twisting the Minister for Petroleum who in turn would convince Osinbajo.
Sources within the Minister’s aides revealed that the sum of N150m was used to sway the Minister in order to change the program to a mere Town Hall Meeting. The Acting President was in turn told that there were dire security challenges in the communities to be visited. Unknown to Osinbajo, it was politics at its peak!
Having succeeded in swaying the Ag. President, Kachikwu and Wike perfected their plot by leading the convoy to some project sites then to the Government House where APC leaders and their supporters were stopped from gaining access. Even the troubled communities were not allowed to make their presentations.
But in a smart move, the leader of APC in the South South and Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi who officially was on the protocol list of the Ag. President displayed a rare political tactics. Sensing danger, he immediately asked Senator Abe and Dr Dakuku Peterside to organise a venue for the APC to meet with Osinbajo. The visiting Ag. President was compelled by emotion, passion and common sense to alter his program by sleeping over in Port Harcourt to enable him meet with the disadvantaged communities and the APC members. The Kula people represented by Chief Anabs Sara Igbe presented their paper, the Etche community presented theirs and a souvenir to Osinbajo, the Civil Societies also had the opportunity to make their submissions while the APC through Senator Abe and Dakuku Peterside also made submissions concerning the killing of over woo of their members especially in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA.
That of course didn’t go down well with Wike who cried and pleaded with Osinbajo. He was quoted saying, “Your Excellency, this is not right please. There can’t be two governors in one state”. But Osinbajo could not be deterred having heard of the clandestine plot to deny Amaechi and the APC the opportunity of presenting their case.
It is not surprising that Ibe Kachikwu who only joined APC when he was appointed Minister could be used as a tool to diminish Amaechi before his people.
Kachikwu whose relationship with Amaechi has only been cordial after a previous altercation in a Town Hall meeting in Calabar over the contentious issue of the Maritime University in Okerenkoko in Delta State, had craftly brought Amaechi to ridicule by the opposing PDP at the Rivers State Government House when he purposely announced the presence of Amaechi at the event. His action of course created the needed opportunity for Wike’s people to boo Amaechi who has earlier arrived his former abode and was greeted by some PDP Chieftains like Uche Secondus, Lee Maeba, Kenneth Kobani and O.K. Chindah. The former governor was unperturbed by Kachikwu and his gladiators’ plot.
In the end, Osinbajo honoured Amaechi at a meeting with Rivers APC the next day. He described Amaechi as “my very very very good friend”.
The Acting President encouraged Amaechi and the APC in Rivers State to remain undaunted in their new position as opposition members. He said, “To be in opposition is not easy…today is opposition, tomorrow is victory”
Oby Ndukwe wrote from Portharcourt
