…Says their ships-jumping, sign of victory for Rivers APC
…Apologises to Amaechi for Foisting Ikanya on Him
In his raunchy custom of reckless spending and wastage of public funds, Governor Nyesom Wike, organized a multi-million naira jumbo reception rally to welcome Dr. Ibiamu Davies Ikanya, erstwhile Chairman, APC, Rivers and his clownish compadre, Igo Aguma, into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after the duo, alongside others, successfully executed the artfully contrived scheme for which they were hired by the Governor, to help his 2019 re-election bid, by stirring-up and sustaining crisis in the Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress. For conscious political watchers, it was a home coming rather than a defection rally, as the fair weather politicians and pretentious party men have always been with Gov. Wike.
Reacting to the event, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party, (nPDP), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, said the judgement handed down by the Supreme Court of Nigeria which made nonsense their claims and exposed their clandestine gimmicks against the APC, led to their formal exit from the Progressives party thus, reintegrating them into the People’s Democratic Party was the only alternative left to help their status as political nomads. Their ploy with Wike was to usurp power and take over the affairs of the APC but their scheme met its waterloo.
In a statement made available to media houses in Port Harcourt, Chief Eze said the multi-million naira reception was organized as a response to the gale of defection that recently rocked the People’s Democratic Party in Rivers State, where dozens of political heavyweights, including former Commissioners, Special Assistants, Board Members and close allies of Gov. Wike, alongside their supporters, left the licking umbrella party to pitch their tent with the All Progressives Congress.
Describing the mammoth event as laughable and of no effect, the party chief said one would have loved to see Ikanya, Aguma and others, quietly take a stroll back to their base -PDP, than for Wike to waste the huge sum he expended to put the jamboree in place to receive people who are already members, and have been working with and for the People’s Democratic Party while pretending to have a business with the All Progressives Congress.
The party Chief said Aguma, Ikanya, Abe and others have always constituted themselves as moles monitoring the affairs of the APC and reporting back to the party where their souls have always been and by their common exit, true APC faithful in Rivers State should be celebrating, owing to the fact that those who constituted themselves into nuisance in the APC have finally departed to allow for sanity and internal reorganization.
“How people who ganged up to work against the aspiration and vision of APC for Rivers State assumed to have defected to PDP, a party they have been working for since 2015, when Dr. Dakuku Peterside was elected to fly the flag of the party, and again in 2019, when it became crystal clear that their choice candidate, Senator Magnus Abe could not fly the flag of the party, beats ones imagination”. Eze said.
“While I was watching the event through a National Television, organised by Governor Nyesom Wike and his PDP gang of clowns to receive my friends, Dr. Ibiamu Davies Ikanya, assumed State Chairman of Rivers State APC and Igo Aguma, whose notoriety to destroy APC is a public knowledge, I laughed them to scorn”.
“Since the reception, I have received several calls within and outside Nigeria asking for my stand on the defection of Dr. Ikanya whom according to them I worked with when he was nominated as the APC State Chairman. I wonder what exactly some of these callers want me to say, knowing that the said defection is one that gives joy to the souls of true APC faithful in Rivers State, given the antecedents of the duo.”
Aware of Aguma’s antecedents, Eze said he never attached an atom of seriousness to his person and recalled telling him publicly that he will run away from the APC, and in line with the prediction, Aguma is formally gone. For Dr. Ikanya, Eze called him a silent operator bidding for his time to embrace Governor Wike, and with the expiration of his task in the party, he left.
While celebrating his home coming, Ikanya stated and I quote, “I apologise to my followers from the various Local Government Areas for misleading them into the APC.
I want to take responsibility for the problems I have caused you all these years.
I am not only the founding chairman of APC in Rivers State but I remain the only Chairman that was elected. After my time it has been from one appointment to another, how can a political party be appointing its state Chairman? It means that the party has become a personal property.
Gov Wike I remember that you warned me when we wanted to start this APC but i didn’t listen, now i understand better what you were saying then.
I have 3 of my children who made 1st class overseas and they came back while I was still the state Chairman of the APC but i couldn’t secure a job for them while we were in Government in the state…. And up till today they’re still unemployed. So, what did I gain by joining the APC?
The APC in Rivers State is only favouring one person and not Rivers people.
We formed the APC in Rivers State with good intentions but unfortunately people hijacked the whole party machinery and turned it into their personal business where they sit down in their comfort zone to make decisions for us. And it got to a point where we couldn’t take it anymore.
We have to find our way back to where we started. PDP was a home to all of us until we made the wrong move into the APC, we are happy to be back here today.
I want to apologise to everyone i have offended through my actions, decisions and activities in the APC.
Where we’re coming from our leader there hasn’t been sincere to us, he has been very selfish and deceitful. We can’t continue with him.
I am proud to announce that we are fully back home and back to stay”.
Eze who has worked with Dr. Ikanya since Governor Amaechi resolved to accept opposition leaders into his political family as far back as 2008 corrected the impression of Dr. Ikanya that he is returning home to PDP as there is no record to show that he was at any time a member of PDP.
And for him to acknowledge that Wike warned him, “Gov Wike I remember that you warned me when we wanted to start this APC but i didn’t listen, now i understand better what you were saying then.” simply demonstrates that he has been in touch with Governor Wike since then so one should not be surprised of the role some of these people have played to undermine APC from inception till date.
On the issue that the party was hijacked by an individual, Dr Ikanya is indicting himself that he wasn’t an effective State Chairman if under his watch an individual could hijack the party.
On the assertion that “The APC in Rivers State is only favouring one person and not Rivers people” This is a fallacy and wicked lie from the pit of hell. That Dr. Ikanya or any of us have not been appointed into any Federal Government Agency doesn’t mean that those hundreds of our people appointed or working in the Federal Ministry of Transportation, NIMASA, NPA, NRC, Higher Institutions Boards, HYPREB, NSC.NIG.SHIPPERS COUNCIL or appointed as Ambassadors are not from Rivers state or not benefitting from the APC Government.
The APC Chief exposed that APC is not in government in Rivers State due to the selfishness and unseriousness of evil conspirators like Aguma, Ikanya and others, in the politics of 2015 and 2019 so how do they want a single individual to take care of all problems of all members of APC.
With the situation of things and challenges facing most of us and how Amaechi have managed all these years to keep the party afloat still stands as a wonder in the eyes of most of us very close to him knowing his own challenges. I must confess that I am at a loss how Amaechi survives on daily basis in the amidst of these unholy and funny characters.
“The large scale sabotage we suffered kept most of us away from other political positions like the National and State Assemblies. Those positions would have assisted in recruiting or keeping most of us relevant in the scheme of things, therefore turning around to blame Amaechi, an individual for our collective woes is totally unfair and unacceptable”.
Dr. Ikanya’s claim that three of his children who graduated from overseas with first class have remained unemployed is simply idiotic. If Ikanya’s three first class graduates have not been opportune to be engaged in any of the several programs of the federal government because of the large unemployed population, it goes to show the crass laziness the Rivers State Government under Wike, has displayed since 2015.
Ikanya’s children would have been employed if Amaechi was still Governor because during his time, he had an effective policy on employment generation and empowerment for Rivers people so instead of blaming Amaechi, Dr. Ikanya should blame Governor Wike for his neglect of creating employment opportunities in Rivers state
“If I may ask, is Amaechi the President of Nigeria and even if he is the President, will it be possible that he can engage or employ all the children of his associates. I have five patriotic graduate children who graduated from UNIPORT in Nigeria and have not the privilege of schooling outside Nigeria and have done their NYSC all staying at home and I have not ran amok for that reason. Let us bear in mind that Amaechi is doing his best under the condition we all have put him into”.
Regrettably Eze postulated that Dr. Ikanya was penciled to Chair one of the Federal Government Agencies but his Nicodemus style of politics and his unwise romance with Senator Magnus Abe ruined that opportunity so instead of blaming Amaechi for not appointing him into any Agency he should blame himself for not been steadfast in one political camp.
Eze reiterated that for avoidance of doubt, after finishing his task as National Publicity Secretary of the New Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP, I was reduced to a mere Media Aide to the Rivers State Chairman of APC (Dr. Ikanya). The fact is that the APC as a party felt that Dr. Ikanya and his Media Aides do not have the liver to issue fiery statements needed at that time knowing the type of politics that Wike plays to keep the opponents at bay and so I was prevailed upon to help out.
Events within the party office then, revealed Ikanya’s devilry, he worked tirelessly with Abe, to destroy the Rivers APC.
This fact is well known to Amaechi and most members of the inner circle of his political family and resulted to the election of Ojukaye Flag-Amachree as the State Chairman in place of Dr. Ikanya at the expiration of his tenure. If he was relected as APC State Chairman, APC as presently constituted would have been pocketed by Wike and Abe and those they are fronting for in Lagos.
Apologizing to Amaechi for all the pains Ikanya caused the party and all he may have said about him, Eze recalled that he, alongside others, prevailed on Amaechi to reappoint Dr. Ikanaya as a member of the State Executive Council, without which Dr. Ikanya would not be in position to abuse Amaechi the way he is currently doing.
Eze recalled, “when Amaechi decided to dissolve his Cabinet after some years in his first tenure, the State Exco of Forum of Organised Opposition Political Parties
FOOPP (A body comprising of all the political parties in opposition in Rivers State) decided to visit him again to review our relationship with his government. Then, Dr. Ibiamu was not reappointed and it was very clear that the system had concluded that he would not be reappointed. By the time the Governor responded to almost all the issues we tabled before him, he tactically jumped that of reappointment of Ibiamu into his Cabinet and was about leaving the State Exco Chamber. I don’t know where I got the strength to state, “Your Excellency Sir, you have not addressed the issue of the reappointment of Dr. Ibiamu”. The Governor then responded that if we wanted Ibiamu to be reappointed, he would do so but we should be ready to bear the consequences and we all chorused yes, yes; and that was how Dr. Ibiamu was reappointed and I am still suffering that boldness in some quarters. My offence was who gave me the audacity to challenge what had already been concluded.” in line with the warning of Amaechi the consequences of this honest and innocent plea is what has played out today.
In other words, I instigated his reappointment and thus, I apologize to Rivers People, the APC family and the South South leader of the party, His Excellency Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, for that singular mistake not knowing that Dr. Ikanya will today stand in a public gathering to castigate, abuse and insult Amaechi the way he did during the worthless home coming event. What a world!!
Affirming the above report, Rivers State Brain Box and Chief Librarian of the history of Rivers State Politics, Alabo Chris Finebone sent this text to me few minutes ago without even reading this statement, “Chief Eze, I remember vividly your efforts in 2011 under the platform of Forum of Organised Opposition Political Parties (FOOPP) that culminated in Ikanya’s recall into the State Cabinet by CRA.”
The problem with me is that I hate to tell lies even in the midst of Chief Liars. Let me reiterate without fear of contradiction that none of those running to Wike or Abe today can claim more closeness to them to me but I am glad that the duo know that once you are on the side of falsehood, I can’t spare you.
I know my worth and risks I have taken because of Rivers State APC but instead I am been abused on daily basis that I live in a rented house and using public transport even have to beg for funds to carry out this tedious, risky and assiduous task but do I have to kill or castigate people for no reason. We should remain faithful and resolute having faith in God who rewards all good deeds to pay us back handsomely at his own time
Finally, let me reiterate that I am not against anybody defecting to Wike or PDP but to use the opportunity to say things that are not true about Amaechi will not be tolerated by me.
Anybody is free to abuse and castigate Amaechi any how but it is my duty to straighten the records.
Ends
Signed
Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,
APC Chieftain & former National Publicity Secretary, nPDP
08 – 06– 21
