REVEALED – How Buhari’s Minister worked against the victory of President Tinubu
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State and former Chief of Staff, Tony Okocha, has revealed how former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Magnus Abe, worked against the interest of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.
He said both Ameachi and Abe abandoned the APC and strongly worked for the interest of its opposition and their candidate in the state.
Okocha, who addressed journalists in his Abuja Home, stated that the APC would have suffered a bloody nose in the Presidential election in Rivers State if not for former Governor Nyesom Wike.
Okochas challenged the SDP’s governorship candidate in the last election, Magnus Abe, to produce “results from his two polling units, ward and local government” where Tinubu was said to have lost to Abe’s SDP, adding that this practically demonstrated the move by Abe to foil Tinubu’s APC victory in that area.
Okocha said, “My worry is that you may just not have agreed to work with Tinubu. It is a different ball game. But that you worked with Tinubu and then at the point that you were needed the most, mid-sea, you abandoned the ship.
“You rejected, you goofed on your own. You ported to another party or chose not to work for Tinubu again, and then only to return when the victory is here to say I was Tinubu’s first son. Does that work?,” he queried.
According to him, “Abe said that as a member of PSC, the strategy committee, that while they were reviewing states, vis-a-vis how they stand, the possibilities and impossibilities of Tinubu winning in respective states, Rivers State was not counted in as one of the states where Tinubu will score 25% at the time.
“So for him, remaining there would have been absurd. So he felt ‘okay, this man will not win, so let me go to another party to try my own personal interest. And I am asking him when he got to this SDP, did he go there as an ordinary member?
“No, he went out and became the candidate of the party. You now want to eulogize Tinubu. You didn’t know that Tinubu was the best person where you left him for another party.
“It is now that he has won you want to grandstand, you want to eulogize just for an appointment. It will not work. I will not support it. It is against common sense”, Okocha stated.
Confirming his earlier view that Amaechi worked for Atiku, the former chief of Staff to Amaechi described his former boss as a “bad loser” who used surrogates within the APC to sabotage Tinubu’s chances in the state.
Okocha said: “Yes, he is not denying it. Amaechi refused to be pacified, even when Tinubu visited him in his house and said let’s work together. He refused. He attended only two rallies to campaign in the whole of Nigeria.
Amaechi deployed Tony Cole, who was the APC governorship candidate in the state at the time to do his bidding.
“The man Tony Cole, neither here nor there. And I told you that as PCC coordinator, he did nothing. No billboards, no banners, no posters, no jingles.
“In his campaigns, he never mentioned Tinubu.
“He was scared that if he identified with Tinubu, it will rub off on him in his own governorship quest. So for him it was safe not to ever mention anything called Tinubu.
“What I know is that the preponderance of those who supported Tinubu alongside me who stood and stuck to our guns for Tinubu, we gave ourselves a name, amalgamation of Tinubu, Shettima support groups in Rivers State- 48 groups,” he added.
Speaking further, Okocha recounted how the group met to run a post-election analysis and concluded to confer on Wike the political leader of the state as reward for saving the party when it was almost on its knees.
“The group had met after the election and we asked ourselves what the position was. In that meeting, it was not part of our agenda. We had a two point agenda.
“One, was a briefing as to what has happened? The second one was, what is the way forward? In the cause of that meeting, a motion was moved from the floor saying that we should invite governor Wike to come over to APC and take over the leadership of APC.
“When that motion was moved, it was followed with a spontaneous standing ovation.
“The reason is when Ameachi had left. Magnus had left. What remained was the little that I could control and with this amalgamation of support groups, we wooed the PDP.
“Are you not aware of the G5? The activities of G5 was instrumental to the success of Tinubu in Nigeria or whether anybody likes it or not. Look at the the winning ratio.
“If he helped us to win in 2023, are we now also going to say to him while in PDP, come to us in 2027 to help us win? Why don’t we bring him in and say takeover because he has value to add. no politician in Rivers state, I stand to be challenged today. Can surmount Wike. Have they not tried it? Is it Ameachi? Wike flogged us. Is it Magnus? Wike flogged him.
“We have said whatever is due us as our own slot in Rivers should be handed over to Wike because he knows who and who worked for Tinubu in Rivers.
