A former Vice Chairman, South-South of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Hilliard Eta, has tackled immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, over his claim that the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, influenced the appointment of the National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, The Guardian reports.
The Guardian recalled that the former minister had, in a chat on Arise TV, claimed that someone in Tinubu’s camp had nominated Prof. Yakubu for reappointment to President Muhammad Buhari.
He also accused INEC of working in cahoots with the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State to undermine APC candidates.
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But speaking to The Guardian, Eta claimed that Amaechi, who served as two-term governor of Rivers State, was lying.
He said there was no iota of truth in Amaechi’s claim, adding that Amaechi’s position was purely based on malice and envy of Tinubu’s achievements.
Eta, an ally to Tinubu said, “I take very strong exception to Amaechi’s sour grapes towards Asiwaju. When Asiwaju won the election about three weeks ago, I was foraging the newspapers and other information channels to see if he would congratulate the man who trounced him in the primary of our party.
“I did not see any such indication that Amaechi has done what is decent and democratic by congratulating the presidential candidate of the party that gave life to his dead political career, eight years ago.
“Now, if he is alluding to the fact that whatever has happened to his rogue APC structure in Rivers State is as a result of the hand of Asiwaju in INEC.
“Let him answer this pertinent question: When in the 2015 elections he failed woefully to deliver any substantial electoral value in Rivers State, was it Prof. Yakubu that ws in charge of INEC at the time?”
He said Rivers was the only state in the South-South that did not give 25 percent to Buhari.
“We cannot tolerate a man who has gotten so much from our party and has the audacity to speak ill of our party,” he said.
