…As South East watches.
By Madu Onuorah
The former Governor of Lagos State, Aswaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu and Minister of Transport, Chief Rotimi Amaechi, have continued their intrigues that tore the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) apart, ahead of the 2023 general election.
The two topnotch in the party believe they are favored if the APC decides to shift Presidency to the South. And ahead of the decision the duo have been struggling for the control of the soul of the party.
Global Upfront Newspaper (GUN) gathered that Tinubu was enjoying the control of the party when in 2018 he successfully facilitated the exit of the former National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who was not in his camp and replaced him with the former Edo State, Governor Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
GUN learnt that since then, the anti-Tinubu forces have been working assiduously to undermine his control of the party structure, an opportunity they found when Comrade Oshiomhole indulged in a number of indiscreet decisions including but not limited to the mindless battle with his godson, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State. Oshiomhole forced out Governor Obaseki from of the party by disqualifying and denying him second term ticket for the September 19, 2020 gubernatorial election in the State.
This action became the last straw of Oshiomhole/Tinubu dominance and arrogance in the party, which has been provocative to other leaders of the party.
GUN Political Monitoring Desk learnt that Chief Amaechi and his other anti-Tinubu forces within the party that includes Governors of Kaduna, Ekiti and Kebbi cashed in on it and turned in all the machines that culminated in the eventual sack of Oshiomhole and his entire National Working Committee.
Although both Amaechi and Tinubu were not present at the emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting that sacked the Oshiomhole’s NWC because they were not qualified, but their field men represented them well. But in the end, Tinubu was the loser and Amaechi the winner.
Since the June 25, 2020 sack of NWC and the establishment of Interim NWC by President Muhammadu Buhari, Amaechi, still swimming in the euphoria of his victory over Tinubu, has intensified his Presidential ambition.
Amaechi has curiously declared himself an Igboman and wants his Ikwere, Rivers State, kinsmen to accept this fact, which is good for them politically.
He has been making frantic efforts to impress Igbo leaders, meeting with them in the South East region and in Lagos and taking certain political steps to portray himself as lovers of Ndigbo.
Sources close to Amaechi told GUN that after Goodluck Jonathan power returning to South South or Niger Delta region would be tagged unfair and greedy but could be understood if it’s seen from ethnic, rather than geography, hence Amachi’s romance with Ndigbo.
GUN learnt that the pro-Amaechi sympathizers helped him to uncover the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, who has been in romance with Tinubu and as a result looks away at anything concerning the acclaimed national leader of APC, the Tinubu forces are not down yet as Amaechi is getting the heat from the House of Representatives where Tinubu godson and other political sons hold sway.
Said a source, “Amaechi has been panicking and talking ridiculously that China loan or any loan at all should not be probed by the National Assembly as such would scare away others from granting loans.”
GUN learnt that while the South South and South West operatives try to cancel themselves in APC in the hope that power will rotate to them, the South East, the deserving and justifiable region remains in the limbo.