Attack on Hon. Nwuche: An Attempt to Divert Attention From Amaechi's Collosal Failures

The Rivers Democratic Forum (RDF), a socio political pressure group in the state views the latest move by hirelings of former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, operating under a purpose built vehicle for insulting Rivers leaders and statesmen, the Inter Ethnic Network for Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi ( INCRA), to denegrate a Rivers Icon, in the person of the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Prince Chibudom Nwuche, as a desperate attempt to divert attention from the epic and collosal failures of Amaechi during his watch as Rivers governor.

Nothing can be more pathetic than the attempts of Amaechi's stormtroopers in INCRA, to clamp down on Hon. Nwuche for speaking the truth on why the 8.4 kilometer Edoha-Ikata-Ochigba road by Amaechi, which has been completed and commissioned by Gov. Nyesom Ezinwo Wike.

A recent publication "CHIBUDOM NWUCHE’S STATEMENT ON EDEOHA- IKATA-OCHIGBA ROAD; FALSE AND MISLEADING", after carefull scrutiny, comes right out of Amaechi' s playbook; vilify and blackmail politically, dissenting views and opinions. This is what has rendered the All Progressives Party (APC) comatose under Amaechi's watch as leader of the party in Rivers state.

Of course, there is every need to respond to INCRA's infantile diatribe, because when a lie goes unchallenged, there is the danger that it may become a toll for future reference.

It Is ironic that in Amaechi's world view that telling the truth now attracts a penalty, instead of accolades. It is a statement of fact that Amaechi abandoned the Edoha-Ikata-Ochigba road. Even his hagiographers cannot wish away that. It is also a statement of fact that Amaechi gleefully boasted that he abandoned the road because of Hon. Prince Chibudom Nwuche. It is another statement of fact that Gov. Nyesom Wike promised to complete that road because of Hon. Nwuche, during the campaigns, when Nwuche was still in the PDP,which he has done. This the crux of the issue.

It is therefore curious that these simple truths have sent Amaechi's army of trolls into over drive, drolling with mischief, blackmail and insults.

The only counter they can conjour up, is to charge that Hon. Nwuche did nothing for his constituency during his tenure as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Reps and that Hon. Nwuche has been awarded contracts by Gov. Wike for the reconstruction of County Grammar School, Ahoada.

While these jaundiced allegations are laughable, it advertises the mindsets of its authors. It is a henious and most despicable falsehood in keeping with the character of their master.

For record purposes, Nwuche's tenure remains a golden era, not just for the people of Abua/Odual and Ahoada East, but for the entire Ekpeye nation. Nwuche's achievements which, spanned from attracting a Federal Immigration Training School, to Power sub stations, to numerous roads including the Otusega/Obedum road that links Abua to Odual and Bayelsa state,water projects are well documented and are available to all.His role in the passage of the Nddc act and the siting  of the head quarters in Port Harcourt is indelible. Also his role in the implementation of the 13% derivation that enabled Amaechi to garner over N4 trillion in his 8 years as Governor can not be wished away.Hon. Nwuche remains loved by his people because of his unrelenting zeal to bring peace to his constituency and uncompromising stand on capacity building and political empowerment. The evidences of these abound more than 15 years after he left office. Of course Hon. Nwuche's biggest gift to his people was in opting to abide with the zoning arrangement in his constituency and refused to contest for a second term!

It is political blackmail to accuse Hon. Nwuche of collecting contracts from Gov. Wike for the renovation of County Grammar School, Ahoada.The school renovation project we are told was awarded to over 14 contractors.Can INCRA point to any coy there that belongs to Hon Nwuche . It is a typical lie you get from people who are woefully out of their depth. Amaechi and his group are engaged in so many needless political battles . Any casual audit can unravel the owners of these companies. It is a fact that Hon. Nwuche does not betray his people nor back stab them, hence their fanatical loyalty to him, irrespective of partisan affiliation. It is a public record that Nwuche has been severally declared the political leader of the Ekpeye nation by leaders of all political parties!.

Hon. Nwuche made his first millions in 1988 as a youth corpper and has remained industrious till date unlike the likes of Rotimi Amaechi whose only source of livelihood is milking our common wealth since 1999 till date at the expense of the common man.

No amount of blackmail against Chibudom Nwuche will succeed as he has remained a man of means outside politics. Nwuche is a professional lawyer and a  stakeholder in the oil and gas sector of the economy.
He does not need to be in government to survive as by the grace of God and hard work, he has remained affluent more than fifteen years after he left the National Assembly.

There is no doubt that Amaechi habors a deep seethed hatred for Hon. Nwuche which he manifests at every given opportunity. It is a general knowledge what role Rotimi Amaechi played between 1999 -2003 using Rivers state resources to facilitate the impeachment of Chibudom Nwuche as Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives.His numerous plots to eliminate Nwuche,tarnish his image, and continually abuse his office as Minister of transportation  and using it to persecute Nwuche and other Niger Delta leaders, and  destroy his businesses are known  to Nigerians.

As a man with a large heart, when Amaechi fell apart with Odili during the run up to the 2007 general elections that he had to escape to Ghana for fear of his life, Chibudom Nwuche was amongst the few that stood by him. This kind gesture Amaechi has not reciprocated till date instead he continued his antagonism and hate against Chibudom Nwuche. He manifested his hate for Chibudom Nwuche again when he used his powers as governor to upturn Nwuche’s victory during the 2011 Rivers West Senatorial primaries of the PDP.

Of course, Hon. Nwuche is not the only victim of Amaechi's bizarr manifestation of power and office. Rather than use his privileged position to develop Rivers state and the South South, he is instead using the position against the people of the region by needlessly cancelling business concessions and contracts of South South and Niger Delta indigenes in the Ministry of Transportation and other parastatals/subsidiaries under him like the case of Chief Victor Odili the Onwa of Ndoni. To deploy government resources at your disposal in fighting and sabotaging every Niger Delta person of substance is improper as Rotimi Amaechi is currently doing against former Governor of Bayelsa Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Governor Nyesom Wike, Senator Magnus Abe, and all prominent APC leaders in Rivers state,etc.

The question therefore Arises, what is Amaechi really hiding? Why does he revel in this politics of war and brickbat? The annoyance of INCRA and their paymasters is why Nwuche commended Wike for completing the road and not Amaechi for abandoning it. To INCRA it does not matter whether Amaechi abandoned the road even though Amaechi did not hide by saying publicly at different fora that he abandoned the road to punish Chibudom Nwuche for refusing to join him in fighting his many self made enemies.
As rightly acknowledged by INCRA, Chibudom Nwuche  at his level must state the truth at all times. Amaechi not minding that the resources at his disposal as governor was the common wealth of the people, exhibited high degree of pettiness and parochialism by abandoning the road because to him he wanted to “punish Chibudom Nwuche” for not joining him to fight needless and infantile battles.

It is not far fetched that Hon. Nwuche will always be in Amaechi's bad books because their brand of politics is diametrically opposed. Nwuche is a philosopher, a deep thinker and an apostle of democracy. This is why he has emphasized a political culture of tolerance and service to the people. Hon.Nwuche knows that political ideological differences are unified in serving the collective good and uplifting society. If not for pettiness even Rotimi Amaechi would commend Wike for his detribalized approach for spreading developmental projects across the state irrespective of party affiliation or tribe. Amaechi and his group are still to come to terms why Wike chose to complete inflated contracts he awarded mostly to his cronies, mobilized fully but abandoned like the Edeoha-Ikata-Ochigba 8.2 kilometer road at a whooping N5.7 billion  awarded to a front of a gubernatorial aspirant.  Same front was awarded the Ozuoba-Rumuolemi 4 kilometer road at N5 billion and abandoned which Wike has also completed. Others are the Trans Amadi road Amaechi awarded at N49 billion and paid in full but abandoned which Wike for the benefit of the people and strategic importance of the Trans Amadi Industrial estate has completed. Same thing applies to Slaughter-Woji bridge, Woji-Elelnwo brigde, Woji –Akpajo bridge etc. What is expected of Rotimi Amaechi is to set ego aside and commend Wike for completing projects he had paid for and abandoned rather than continuously antagonizing Wike and people he sees around him.

We call on Rotimi Amaechi to join the likes of Chibudom Nwuche to demonstrate that politics is a high calling and not an excuse for crude display of babarism. In commending and showing solidarity with Wike, Hon.Nwuche is helping to midwife a new political culture in the state. A political culture that will help to further deepen democracy and ethrone tolerance and bipartisan cooperation for the common good.A culture that will restore peace and harmony to the troubled Niger Delta region.

This new political culture is evidence in the leadership style of President Mohammadu Buhari. We urge Amaechi to borrow a leaf from President Buhari and focus on governance and deliver on the campaign promises of his great party, as it is not yet time for campaigns. Amaechi's political brand of campaign to campaign, comes at a huge collataral cost for the party.

Signed
Dike Amadi
Coordinator

Wilfred James
Secretary

Leloonu Kabari
Publicity Secretary