Politics

How Amaechi, Giadom Worked Against Tinubu’s Election -APC Chieftain

Published

3 years ago

May 2, 2023

The South-South Zonal Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Blessing Agbomhere, has accused former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amechi, of working with his allies to frustrate the victory of Bola Tinubu during the February 25 presidential election.

This is even as he insisted that Victor Giadom, until recently, the Zonal Chairman of the party will no longer act in that capacity after a vote of no confidence was passed on him and the ex-zonal secretary, Ita Udosen.

Agbomhere has now taken over as the Acting Zonal Chairman of the party.

The PUNCH reports that Giadom was removed on Sunday after five zonal officers of the party, at a special meeting in Port Harcourt, moved against Giadom and Udosen, citing their running of the zone like a personal fiefdom, failure to call for meetings, among others, as reasons for their removal.

Reacting to the development however, the leadership of the party in a statement issued by the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, dismissed the action of Agbomhere and four others, saying they lacked the constitutional authority to sack zonal officers of the party.

Addressing a handful of print journalists in Abuja, Agbomhere faulted the statement credited to Morka, noting that Amechi and Giadom, who in the build-up to the election doubted the chances of Tinubu and the APC, ought to have been disciplined for frustrating the efforts of a party that have given them opportunities to serve in the past.

He said, “The ex-zonal chairman (Giadom) never mobilised for our party, the APC in the general election. He never supported our candidate. Before the election, Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima took out time to come to them knowing that Rotimi Amechi contested the primary election and failed and that Giadom is his lieutenant, they were begged to join hands with party members to ensure that they were voted for.

“Amechi and Giadom did not work for the party. They came out publicly, called meetings in the South-South, and urged people to vote against the APC and vote for Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party. We consider this a great disservice to our party because the APC has done everything for Amechi.”

He specifically condemned the comment made by the ex-Transportation Minister when during the election, he claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission chairman was appointed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), following a recommendation by a member of Tinubu’s camp.

“Do you know what such statements can cause the party? By that statement, he was ready to incite Nigerians against the candidacy and election of Bola Tinubu,” he added.

Justifying the decision to sack Giadom, Agbomhere added, “The zonal officers of the South-South had their extraordinary meeting, and, in that meeting, we are eight officers in the zone, all of us were present. The constitution requires that we call for a zonal meeting at least once every quarter and for almost six months now, he (Giadom) has not called for a meeting. He has been running the party alone and doing whatever he likes with the party. Every attempt to make the secretary call for a meeting also failed. He and the secretary are running the party together, without carrying the other six executive members of the zone along.

“Even after the elections were over, there have been a series of petitions and suspensions from across the states in the region. The zone is supposed to set up a committee that would receive these petitions, do fact-finding to find out what is wrong and find a way to resolve these issues in the zone but Giadom allowed the zone to be enveloped in internal disputations because he does not care.”

He also accused Giadom of abandoning his duties as the chairman of the zone and also not supporting Tinubu’s campaign.

As the National Working Committee of the party meets on Wednesday, Agbomhere said a letter notifying the leadership of the party would be transmitted informing it of development in the zone. When that is done, the NWC being “A higher committee than the one that took that decision, is to set up a fact-finding committee. After their findings, they can then make a pronouncement of either supporting our position or otherwise.”

Speaking on Tinubu’s readiness for governance, Agbomhere said, “despite the fact that I cannot guarantee that Asiwaju can run 100km in an hour, I can confirm that Asiwaju and Shettima have 100 ideas to rescue Nigeria and set her on the path of greatness within the first 100 days in office. This is why we keep supporting him. We are ready to fight anybody bent on frustrating democracy in Nigeria. This is the first time in Nigeria that we will be having a pure democrat coming to occupy the office of the president in Nigeria. Asiwaju is not in the league of Rotimi Amaechi and Victor Giadom; he is in the league of Obafemi Awolowo and Lee Kuan Yew,” Agbomhere stressed.

PUNCH

Related Topics:#Rivers APC #Tinubu Amaechi Giadom

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Politics

Wike: Why Removing Fubara Will Be Difficult – Ex-Commissioner

Published

20 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain, citing what he described as the governor’s performance record and the lack of concrete allegations against him.

Tam-George made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television, arguing that the impeachment process being initiated against Fubara was to scuttle his chance for a second term.

According to him, Governor Fubara has continued to place the needs of the people at the centre of his administration, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare.

He said this, in his view, has made it difficult for opponents to justify moves to remove the governor from office.

Tam-George also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to intervene, arguing that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.

He said: “Well, all I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the center of gravity of his administration, prioritize the needs of the people, so that the people can see the direct impact of government action in their lives.

“And that’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, in terms of housing sector transformation, which I mentioned that he is doing the same in education sector and in health.

“So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s need at the center of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.

“Because, if you look very carefully at the so called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy.

“What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t then get to the point where he will be seeking a second term.

“Let me be clear, just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany, he made it clear that, look, if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial.

“So all of these things that we are seeing the so called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.

“If you look at the so called articles of impeachment, as I said, they lack specificity in terms of the kind of infraction that they allege that the governor has committed. He has done nothing wrong, and they will see how the process will play out.

“My sense, and in fact, if I were to advise the governor, my sense is that he should just maintain the people, retain the people at the center of gravity of his administration, meet their needs, run a transparent administration as he always done, and then the truth will come out, and he will be able to defend the administration.

“I think the the governing APC should also step in because they can’t possibly allow the governor of the office with probably one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by some of these members of the assembly.”

Politics

Wike A ‘Pestilence’ On Rivers, I Resigned Because Of It – Ex-Commissioner

Published

20 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

Austin Tam George, a former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, has described the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as a destabilising force in Rivers State, accusing him of attempting to exert godfatherism over the state’s political affairs.

He argued that the move to impeach the governor is a calculated attempt to reassert political control and reduce Fubara’s growing influence.

Tam George, who served under Wike’s administration, made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television.

He said he resigned as commissioner due to what he described as Wike’s propensity for chaos and instability and the reduction of governance to a personality-driven system.

According to him, the current political tension in the state is the culmination of Wike’s long-standing approach to power, which he said is now manifesting in efforts to control the state for personal political influence.

He said: “Nyesom Wike has been a complete pestilence on Rivers state. I served in his administration as commissioner for information. As you know, I resigned precisely because of these, his propensity for chaos, for instability and reducing government to a personality cult, more or less. And I’m so disappointed that this propensity has now crystallized today to a stage where the state is now held by the juggler by person who thinks that he will be political godfather over the rest of Rivers state.

“But what I think is going to happen in this final phase of this struggle is that Rivers’ people ultimately are going to resist and defeat this tendency to want to privatize the state, to want to capture the state for his own personal aggrandizement.

“Governor Fubara has been an excellent administrator. I have to say he’s spending money building people’s capacity, lifting communities out of poverty. Money you would have expected that he would have diverted to political godfathers are now being spent in critical sectors such as education, where he’s completely transforming the sector, in health where almost all the tertiary health care systems are revived, 122 primary health care centers spread across the 23 local government areas.

“There is a total transformation happening on a sector by sector basis, and this has endeared the governor to the people of the state.

“Now there is a strong likelihood that he may be seeking a second term to expand his legacy and to consolidate his achievements for the benefit of all. And this will mean that there is going to be, you know, a reduction of Wike’s influence.

“So what you see as an impeachment move is an attempt to try to reassert what they consider to be their leverage against the governor.”

Politics

Why We’re Impeaching Fubara — Rivers Assembly

Published

1 day ago

January 8, 2026

Editor

The Rivers State House of Assembly has given reasons for the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The Majority Leader of the Assembly, Major Jack, said the decision to impeach the governor and his deputy was based on their alleged persistent violation of the peace agreement brokered by President Bola Tinubu.

Jack made the allegation during plenary on Thursday while presenting the report detailing acts of misconduct against the governor.

According to him, Governor Fubara and his deputy had repeatedly disregarded the resolutions reached during reconciliation efforts aimed at restoring stability in the state.

He accused the two leaders of running the affairs of government without commitment to transparency and good governance.

“The governor and his deputy have continued to act in a manner that undermines democratic principles and accountability,” Jack said.

He further alleged that the peace deals facilitated by President Tinubu were breached on several occasions, including agreements reached during reconciliation meetings held in December 2023 and another in 2025.

Jack insisted that the continued failure of the governor and his deputy to honour the terms of the peace accord necessitated the impeachment process currently before the Assembly.