The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has said that the former Governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi, is “clean, spotless and untainted by corruption”.
It therefore urged President Muhammadu Buhari to disregard efforts by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers to tarnish Amaechi’s image.
The party’s statement, signed by the chairman of Rivers Chapter of the APC, David Ikanya, said:
“We make bold to say that if there is any clean and spotless former governor in Nigeria, that person is Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Anybody who knows Amaechi well enough would readily testify that he is an honest, sincere but courageous gentleman; a first-class patriot who is ever ready to go the extra mile to see that Nigeria becomes a better place for the present and future generations.”
The party condemned Wike’s “desperation to drag Amaechi’s name in the mud”; adding that the latest attempt is a sponsored documentary about the former governor being aired on Africa Independent Television (AIT).
“This satanic documentary is only part of Wike’s propaganda war against Amaechi for which the caretaker governor of Rivers State has earmarked billions of naira in his wicked plot to destroy and decimate the person and character of Amaechi,” it said. “Other propaganda tools planned to be deployed in the war against Amaechi include sponsored publications such as advertorials, columns, editorials and OpEd articles in major international, national and local print media; sponsored personality discussion programmes in the electronic media and sponsored special documentaries for television and radio through independent groups and organisations.
This insidious plot by Wike includes commissioning a team made up of persons within and outside the state to initiate, formulate and contrive false damaging reports bordering on alleged corrupt practices of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and circulate same to individuals and institutions within Nigeria and abroad with a view to damaging the incorruptible character and rising profile of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in order to blackmail and put pressure on President Buhari not to appoint the former governor into his government.
These cooked reports will be sent to the US Embassy, UK High Commission, EU Commission, and several international organisations such as Transparency International, amongst others. The forged reports will also be sent to local and foreign media houses such as the BBC (Hausa Service), Dutch Radio, VOA [Hausa Service], amongst others for repeated publication and airing.”
