Rivers: Wike, Amaechi loyalists in war of words over Oyigbo, IPOB

By TONY JOHN, Port Harcourt

The Rivers Patriotic Front (RPF) has flayed a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and staunch supporter of the Minister of Transportation, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, over his statement discrediting Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on reinforcing the proscription of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the state.

President and Secretary of the group, Ekine James and Johnbull Jenson respectively, in a statement they issued in Port Harcourt yesterday, chided Eze for taking offence that Wike accused his master of being aware of the recent activities of IPOB in Oyigbo Local Government Area, where 10 security agents were killed.

The group faulted Eze in his recent publication, where the APC stalwart was quoted as saying: “Eze to Wike on IPOB: Your bizarre propaganda against Amaechi is ill-conceived, wicked, sad, unfortunate and diabolic… Reminds Governor of how he used IPOB mob to win 2015, 2019 elections… Says it’s illogical to claim the same IPOB which attacked Amaechi in a foreign land now works for him.”

According to the group, “the entire article, from beginning to end is just, plain, tired, overflogged, incoherent garbage. His anger is that Governor Nyesom Wike, during a recent AIT Television interview, accused Transportation Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, as the political figure behind the Oyigbo carnage by IPOB, in which 10 police and Army officers were killed and Chief Eze described Governor Wike’s comment; “as a mountain of illusion merely palpitating in the web of debacle”.

The group wondered how the minister’s loyalist arrived at the conclusion that the Igbo community, who Eze described as “IPOB Mob” was used by Wike to win 2015 and 2019 elections.

The group asked: “How exactly did Governor Wike use the “IPOB Mob” to win two consecutive elections back to back convincingly and comprehensively.

“The only answer is that the Igbo community in Rivers State, which IPOB erroneously claims to represent, voted massively for Governor Wike in the two elections and the Rivers Governor, like the true statesman and leader he is, has always acknowledged this, even in his recent meeting with the leaders of the non-indigenes community in Rivers State, on Monday, November 2, 2020.

“Let us equally remind Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, in case he has deliberately decided to forget, that this same Igbo community, which he describes as “IPOB Mob”, also voted massively for Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for governor by proxy as a PDP candidate in 2007 and directly and even more emphatically in 2011, when interestingly, Chief Barr. Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike was the Director-General of the campaign Council that delivered his victory.

“As for Oyigbo, it’s important to inform and educate Chief Chukwuemeka Eze of the criminal activities and menace of IPOB in that local government area, as its hoodlums hijacked a peaceful #EndSARS protest in Rivers State, to wreak havoc and destruction on the community”, the group insisted.

The RPF, however, concluded that even Amaechi, as a governor, would never have allowed the “deliberate effrontery and impunity (of IPOB) in any of his local government areas.” (Daily Sun)