You Can’t Stop Amaechi From Campaigning In Rivers, ADC Tells Wike

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has told the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, that he has no legal or moral right to stop the campaign of its vice presidential candidate, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, in Rivers State.

The party was reacting to a statement attributed to the minister yesterday that he would not allow Amaechi to stage his electioneering campaign in the state except he accounts for some alleged misappropriated funds.

The ADC in a statement issued in Port Harcourt by its state publicity secretary, Chizy Eneyi, said the party would have ignored Wike’s latest political entertainment but decided to set the records straight.

The statement said in part, “When a serving minister abandons reasoned political engagement for personal insults, unsubstantiated allegations and threats against an opposition candidate, silence becomes inappropriate.

“We find it rather amusing that a man who served as Chief of Staff to Amaechi and subsequently as a minister under the same political administration now speaks as though he has only just discovered who Amaechi is.”

ADC said if Wike possessed evidence of the monumental crimes he now alleges, “Why has he not ensured their prosecution? He was governor of Rivers State for eight years, with all the resources and institutional opportunities available to pursue accountability.

“Eight years as governor, yet the evidence apparently only comes out whenever Amaechi speaks. What an extraordinary coincidence!

“We would remind the honourable minister that television studios are not courtrooms, political insults are not evidence, and shouting allegations into microphones does not amount to securing a conviction,” the party said.

The statement noted that if Wike has evidence, let him present it to the appropriate authorities, saying Nigerians deserve facts, not another episode of political name-calling.

According to the ADC, the most revealing part of Wike’s outburst was his warning that Amaechi would find it difficult to campaign in Rivers State.

“Difficult to campaign? Since when did Rivers State become a private estate requiring the permission of Nyesom Wike before citizens can exercise their constitutional rights?

“Let us remind the minister that Rivers State belongs to Rivers people, not to any individual, however powerful he imagines himself to be.

“Amaechi does not require Wike’s permission to visit, campaign or seek the votes of Rivers people. Neither does the ADC.”