The national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has publicly criticized former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, accusing him of inciting Nigerians against the current administration of President Bola Tinubu.
The party’s leadership claims that his actions undermine the government’s efforts and sow discord among the populace.
The APC’s criticism came in response to recent media reports where the former presidential aspirant expressed concerns about what he sees as a lack of unified action by Nigerians to confront poor governance.
A statement issued to newsmen and signed by APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, dismissed Amaechi’s comments as,” insensitive, god-awful and unpatriotic, coming from one of Nigeria’s longest serving and highest ranking political freeloaders – a two-term Speaker of the Rivers state House of Assembly, a two-term Governor, and a two-term Minister of Transport. ”
The APC which claimed that Amaechi’s outburst was not borne out of genuine concern for Nigerians claimed that the former governor was aggrieved having lost out in the power game for the party presidential race in 2023 and has since teamed up with those it derisively labelled as “fellow tribesmen of naysayers of the likes of Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.”
Morka’s statement reads in part: “For almost all of his adult life, Amaechi, has been a leechy dependant on state resources, a voracious beneficiary of official patronage, and a leading participant in the generational devastation of our country’s economy. Attempting to hoodwink Nigerians into his web of false empathy and incitement to violence is hypocritical, provocative, and dangerous.
“If those in power “steal money” as Amaechi mischievously alleged, how come he can’t afford “to buy diesel” barely two years after “stealing” for over 24 years in power as Speaker, Governor, and Minister?
“The only real anger that Amaechi and his fellow tribesmen of naysayers of the likes of Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, must feel is that they are not in the saddle of government today. But that was a decision made by Nigeria’s ultimate political authority – the electorate. Nigerians are highly perceptive, discerning, demure, and mindful that economic discomforts associated with the administration’s inevitable reforms are transient and will pale into insignificance in comparison to the enduring transformative dividends that are already beginning to manifest. Nigerians will not be cajoled into taking back through street violence what they handed to the administration through the ballot, as Amaechi and his partisan tribesmen would wish.
“It is nauseating to think that these naysayer tribesmen who did absolutely nothing to improve the economy or living conditions for Nigerians while they were in office, now pontificate, endlessly, about what and how things should be done but didn’t and couldn’t do while in power.
“It’s as though they only regain their senses and discover their talents for governance when they are out of power. A tribe of naysayers is what they are, who never see any good, only gloom, filled with bile and disdain for the determined strides of the APC administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to transform our country’s economy for the benefit of present and future generations of Nigerians.
“One would expect Amaechi to keep busy trying to solve the crippling crisis in Rivers state that he once governed. Instead, he has chosen to stoke anarchy on a national scale. Weaponizing protest and exploiting citizens’ economic discomfort for selfish political objectives, as these partisan tribesmen are doing, is irresponsible and decidedly unpatriotic.
“We urge Nigerians to dismiss the call to anarchy by Amaechi and his partisan tribesmen and to remain patient and continue to support President Tinubu’s bold effort to transform our country’s economy once and for all.”
