▪berate Amaechi for diverting funds
▪leaders insist on release of N3BILLION by Amaechi
▪ minister flees Port Harcourt, promises to release additional funds tomorrow
▪ rally flops
Major leaders of Rivers APC shunned the “Kick Out Wike Protest ” following the refusal of the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to release bulk of the N3BILLION released by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ministry of Transportation to the party leaders.
Those who shunned the protest include Mr Tonye Cole, Asita Asita, Dakuku Peterside, Magnus Abe, Senator Andrew Uchendu, Elder Chidi Wihoka and Victor Giadom.
Trouble started on Monday morning when the Minister of Transportation, through the Director of Finance of NDDC, Oyirinda Amadi released only N150million to the leaders for sharing.
The money was shared to leaders of Amaechi faction , while the Abe faction was totally excluded from the sharing formula.
After the release of only N150MILLION by the Minister of Transportation, most of the leaders sent back their hired crowd. They demanded the balance of their funds from the Minister and the Director of Finance of NDDC.
With the imminent failure of the widely publicised protest, Amaechi directed the suspended member of Rivers State House of Assembly, Azubuike Wanjoku to lead the protest.
At the Protest venue, hired protesters from Abia,, Ondo , Ogun, North East and North West demanded for full payment from Azubuike Wanjoku. There was pandemonium with the soldiers and policemen bringing the fighters under control. The suspended lawmaker assured them that the Minister of Transportation will personally attend the rally on Wednesday.
Wanjoku said that the low turnout will not achieve the aim of the protest which is to throw the state into crisis for elections to be postponed. He assured that the Minister of Transportation would release more funds on Wednesday.
The hired thugs were later ferried back to their camp at Ubima while they await more hands for the Wednesday protest.
Over 500 soldiers and mobile policemen provided security for the hired APC protesters.
