APC chieftain accuses Amaechi, Giadom of working against Tinubu

The South-South Zonal Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Blessing Agbomhere, has accused former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, 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.

According to reports, 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 newsmen in Abuja, Agbomhere faulted the statement credited to Morka, noting that Amaechi 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.

In his words, “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 Amaechi 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. Amaechi 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 Amaechi.”

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 President Muhammadu Buhari 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 said, “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.”