We supported Amaechi to disgrace Jonathan — APC
The All Progressives Congress has said
its governors supported Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State as
Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to disgrace President Goodluck
Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party.
The spokesmen for the APC told SUNDAY PUNCH
that the merger of major opposition parties was to oppose the interests
of the PDP and the President in the NGF election, the way opposition
did during the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The National Publicity Secretary of the
Congress for Progressive Change, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the
opposition parties were out to oppose any attempt by Jonathan to act as
an authoritarian.
He said, “If you look at the actions of
the progressives, you will notice that we have been consistent for quite
some time. If you will recall that at the election of the current
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, the PDP had
already zoned the position to the South-West, because they had nominated
Mulikat Akande-Adeola, who is now the Majority Leader. But because of
the cooperation of the lawmakers from the progressive parties, Tambuwal
got the position.
“It is exactly the same thing we are
witnessing now. With the cooperation of the progressive governors,
Amaechi disgraced Jonathan, by winning the NGF election despite the
federal might that was against him. Let it be clear to Nigerians that
what happened at the NGF election is a dress rehearsal for 2015.”
Fasakin added, “The progressive parties
will always do anything that will stop Jonathan from assuming an
imperial status. We will continue to oppose Jonathan’s authoritarian
tendencies. We supported Amaechi because Jonathan’s intervention in the
governors’ forum election was self-serving. As a progressive opposition
party, our duty is to oppose that. So, we have no apologises for that.”
When asked if APC was wooing Amaechi and
the PDP governors in his faction of the NGF, Fashakin said some of the
governors were afraid of openly opposing Jonathan.
“We saw that when the chips were down,
some of the governors who were purportedly against Amaechi voted him in
the secret ballot. Just wait, there are many more surprises awaiting
Jonathan and the PDP,” he said.
Also, the National Publicity Secretary
of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Mr. Lai Mohammed, said the decision
to support Amaechi was taken at the APC governors’ forum, not at the
party level.
He said, “All ACN governors are in
support of Amaechi but the decision was taken at the APC governors’
forum. It was not discussed at the party. You know the APC has its forum
and they discuss their affairs as it concerns the merger. Remember they
were all in the Maiduguri and Yobe and they hold meetings regularly.
So, they decided to vote for Amaechi at the NGF election. Is there
anything wrong with that?”
