More light has been shed on why the ruling All Progressives Congress may perform poorly in Rivers State, perhaps the most strategic and volatile political hot spot in the south-south.
The APC senator representing Rivers South East constituency, Magnus Abe, said the dictatorship of the Minister of Transport and Director General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Rotimi Amaechi, may hurt the party badly in the forthcoming elections.
In an interview in the recent edition of The Interview magazine, Abe accused Amaechi of running a one-man show and stoking a personal cult.
“My grievances with the Transport Minister,” Abe said, “have nothing to do with him supporting me or not supporting me. I have told him clearly that he is free to support who he wants to support. My disagreement with him is that he said I should not run, and I said I will run.”
Abe narrated how the feud between him and Amaechi, who used to be his ally and friend, spilled into his family circle when the minister visited him at home.
“To come to my house, call me in front of my wife and tell me not to try contesting was the height of it. I said no, I will not accept that one: I will contest!”, Abe said.
In a statement the MD/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview, Azu Ishiekwene, said, “the Abe interview plumbs the recesses of the problems with the APC in one of the most strategic southern states and gives more than a hint of the dire consequences ahead for the ruling party.”
Abe also spoke of the APC’s riotous primaries in the Rivers State and the subsisting court judgment which potentially rules out the party from fielding a candidate in the governorship election next year.
Also, in this edition, Julia Fortune-Johnson, a Stage 3 cancer survivor shared her experience and lessons learned; leading public speaker, Niyi Adesanya offered tips on how to overcome the fear of death on the big stage; while Italian-based Nigerian fashion entrepreneur, Ijeoma Meribe-Nnorom, talks about how she is putting Nigeria firmly on the Italian couture map.
