Former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New People’s Democratic Party (nPDP) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress,(APC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has slammed the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Drainage and Water Resources, and Ashiwaju Ahmed Tinubu’s close ally, Joe Igbokwe, over alleged continued attacks on the Nigeria’s Transportation Minister, Rt. Hon.Chibuike Amaechi.
Igbokwe, who was the immediate Past Publicity Secretary of the APC in Lagos State, had claimed that the Hon. Minister of Transportation and South-South Leader of the APC, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, may be dropped by President Muhammadu Buhari, if he fails to stop the Rivers State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) “from embarrassing APC Nigeria”.
The APC chieftain, Engr. Joe Igbokwe, gave the warning on Monday while voicing out his frustration on the endless wars in Rivers APC which have seriously weakened the party in the state while also currently posing a great danger to it at the national level.
But, Eze, a close associate of the ex-Rivers State Governor, Amaechi, in a statement on Wednesday, described the comment as a mere balderdash emanating from a political whippersnapper in an attempt to engage in an undue bandy.
He wondered when Igbokwe took up an appointment as presidential spokesman and cautioned the Lagos APC chieftain to pay more detailed attention and channel his energy to his primary assignment of cleaning up dirty drainages in Lagos and stop being a “busybody”.
The ex-Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stalwart said there was more to the political crisis that was displayed in Rivers State during the 2019 elections than mere eyes could see.
Eze reiterated his position that national forces from within and outside the APC fueled the crisis in a bid to weaken and pull down the Transportation Minister given his towering political profile in Nigerian politics.
He asserted that Rivers APC has found the path of peace with the new State Executive Committee under the watch of Dr Davies Sokonte, following the adoption of more pragmatic approaches towards solving the problems within the party.
“Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu once acknowledged Amaechi as the General of the Common sense Revolution that swept off PDP from power besides for a man to have led President Buhari’s Campaign Organization on two occasions and succeeded becoming the first African to achieve that, and for a nobody like Joe Igbokwe to use unkind words on him shows how frustrated he has become and probably to create a rift between you and Amaechi.
“On the crisis currently ravaging APC at the centre and in some states, Nigerians are not deceived as the ambition of one man is the fire tearing down the party but God will help us to rescue our party from such despotic forces”.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari and well-meaning Nigerians have continued to laud the Minister for his style of service delivery which has translated into a massive development in rail infrastructure as a critical element of economic development and job creation.
The frontline politician, however, called on Tinubu to tame his close associate (Igbokwe) to tone down his barbaric wildness in the public space, stressing that Rt. Hon. Amaechi has earned much respect and public confidence in leadership and should be reasonably shielded from vituperative tantrums.
