As the 2019 governorship election in Rivers State is drawing near, Minister of Transportation and the leader of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has vowed never to support the governorship ambition of the lawmaker representing Rivers South East, Senator Magnus Abe. The minister spoke on Saturday during a meeting with the Ikwerre Chiefs and Elders Forum.
“There is no fight in the APC. I am not in any way stopping Abe from running for the governorship seat, but what I know is that I will not support him. Abe is daring me; an Ikwerre son. He is abusing me every day. I will ensure I use Ikwerre vote on him” he said. He added that his Ikwerre ethnic group had 1. 1 million votes out of the 2 .5 million eligible voters in the state.
Amaechi maintained that the position of the governor in the state was rotational among the various ethnic groups, saying that it would amount to greed should Ikwerre hold on to power for more than 12 years. The former governor said he would support a person from the riverine area to occupy the position of the governor for eight years before power would move to Ogoni. “At the moment, we have not chosen a candidate. Only God will decide who will become the next governor” Amaechi stressed.
Meanwhile, Abe has said the people of the state reserve the right to determine who their leaders will be, stressing that the state must come first. Abe spoke on Saturday during a victory thanksgiving/reception by the federal and state lawmakers elected on the platform of the APC in Rivers State. The senator said, “Now is the time to put the interest of the state ahead of anything else. We must work together so that the people can benefit from the politics we play .”
