A one-time National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New PDP, nPDP, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has revealed that the recent audio leak series where the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi was heard criticising the government of President Muhammadu Buhari was a project sponsored by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, Senator Magnus Abe and some frightened members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Eze, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers, said the aim was to bring Amaechi down so that it will become an easy task for them to win the 2019 general elections.
Eze lamented that since the ousting of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 from power, which Amaechi was the arrowhead, the beneficiaries of that deposed corrupt government have not forgiven him.
He said in their frustration and desperation, those looters in Chief have to engage “characterlless fellows like Reno Omokri to circulate a worthless concocted audio tape” wherein the Minister was alleged of disparaging President Muhammadu Buhari and his achievements with hope of causing conflict between President Buhari and his dear son, Amaechi.
According to Eze, the sponsors of the alleged leak were bent on achieving two goals- put a wedge between mBuhari and the Minister, as well as create a wrong narrative of an untrustworthy character on Amaechi.
In a statement to DAILY POST on Thursday night, Eze, however, noted that “the plot and its execution had failed right from the moment it was conceived because most Nigerians have come to understand that Amaechi, being one of the most critical factors to the ouster of the PDP from its merciless milking of the nation’s resources, will continue to be a target of attack from the reactionary elements that represent the former ruling.”
The party chieftain also pointed out that “the responses so far coming from the Presidency and the national leadership of the APC have confirmed to the world that the targets aimed by the sponsors of the campaign of calumny have been missed.”
The statement continued, “Nobody should really be amazed at what is happening now, I mean the so-called leaked audio, this is not their first time attempting to smare Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Hon Minister of Transportation, it is an old trick, which can easily be traced back to its sponsors. What is painful is the fact that one would have expected these fellows, who are well known for mischief to have learnt their lessons from their past failures.”
He recalled “Wike’s desperation to drag Amaechi’s name in the mud, in order to frustrate his nomination or appointment as a Minster by sponsoring a satanic documentary on Amaechi, aired on Africa Independent Television (AIT) for which he earmarked billions of naira in his plot to destroy the person and character of Amaechi.”
“Other propaganda tools planned and deployed during this period, in the war against Amaechi, include sponsored publications such as advertorials, columns, editorials and Op-Ed articles in major international, national and local print media; sponsored personality discussion programmes in the electronic media and sponsored special documentaries on television and radio through independent groups and organisations.
“Other insidious plots by Wike to undermine Amaechi include commissioning a team made up of persons within and outside Rivers State to initiate, formulate and contrive false, damaging reports bordering on alleged corrupt practices by Amaechi, which were circulated to individuals and institutions within Nigeria and abroad, with a view to damaging the character and rising profile of Amaechi; in order to blackmail and put pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari not to appoint him into his government.
“These cooked reports, to the shock of many Nigerians, was sent to the Senate and presented through one misguided former Senator Thompson Sekibo, which the Senate referred to its Ethics Committee. This caused the delay in Amaechi’s screening and confirmation as a minister.
“Wike did not stop at these, but went further to set up Justice George Omereji Panel, to investigate the administration of ex-governor Amaechi. Though the panel did not found any wrong-dealing, or corrupt practices by Amaechi, Wike went ahead to issue a white paper indicting him of embezzling the sum of N53 billion.
“How on earth can someone in his right senses describe funds withdrawn with the approval of the legislature and spent as prescribed by the State Budget to be missing? Wike, in his desperation to stop Amaechi’s appointment as a minister, resorted to dancing naked in the market place.
“But, as God will have it, and contrary to the expectations of Governor Wike and his gang of ingrates, their ferocious campaign to blackmail, disparage and portray Amaechi as a very corrupt person unfit to be appointed as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria failed to achieve the desired objective.
“It is sad and unfortunate that Wike, Abe and their PDP strategists are erroneously thinking that by plotting afresh by sponsoring this useless audio tape against Amaechi or trying to damage him that PDP will win the 2019 general elections. I wish to reiterate that such a plot has collapsed before, it is even hatched as the 2019 performance of PDP will be worse than her 2015 performance.
“Adams Oshiomhole, the National Chairman of APC, has aptly exposed, via his official Twitter handle, ‘@A_Oshiomhole’, why the PDP bigwigs are afraid of Amaechi while reacting to the fabricated leaked audio tape, according to him, ‘the position held by Amaechi in the APC is causing the opposition sleepless nights and others headache. This #DubaiStrategy isn’t working, tell them to do more’.
