$43m: APC hits hard at Wike, Fayose, Kayode; Issues 2-week ultimatum for apologies or face legal action

As the contentious Ikoyi $43million drama unfolds, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has hit hard at governors Nyesom Wike, Ayodele Fayose of of Rivers and Ekiti, respectively, as well as the former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, for fingering Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transport, as the owner of the money and the property where the money was found.

The party in a statement signed by the State Chairman, Chief (Dr.) Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, described the accusation as “mischievous, wicked, diabolical, evil, and a desperate attempt to run down an innocent man whose only crime is that he led APC to defeat a party that prides itself as the largest political party in Africa.”

In the statement which was issued in Port Harcourt on Monday, the APC berated Governor Wike and the others for allegedly attempting to denigrate and disparage Rt. Hon. Amaechi over the Ikoyi $43 million saga.

The statement partly read: “It is very sad and unfortunate that over two years that Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi led APC to dust PDP in the 2015 general elections, the PDP Leadership up till date has refused to forgive Amaechi for disgracing them out of power and salvaging our nation from a system whose corruptive tendency is not only contagious but legendary.

“It is on record that apart from the Abuja residence of Amaechi he has no other single plot of land in any part of this country, so linking him to the ownership of the contentious Ikoyi estate and the huge sum found in it is nothing but an invidious plot to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. It is sad and shameful that a frustrated and disgraceful group with Wike and Fayose as the key actors should attempt to tarnish the hard-earned reputation of Amaechi just because he collaborated with other patriotic Nigerians to oust a regime that is now exposed as the most corrupt ever in the history of Nigeria.

“It has become very obvious that Wike and Fayose now derive pleasure from mentioning Amaechi’s name whenever any negative thing happens, in order to remain relevant and revive their dwindling political fortunes. Instead of Wike and Fayose to face the myriad of problems they have created for themselves, PDP and their states, they prefer to preoccupy themselves with how to drag the name of Amaechi into every imaginable controversy.

“Their thinking is that by pulling down Amaechi PDP will come back to power come 2019 to continue with their looting spree and destruction of our economy. For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state that Amaechi has nothing to do with either the Ikoyi estate or the huge sums of money discovered there by EFCC. We urge Nigerians to ignore the antics of the likes of Wike, Fayose and Fani-Kayode,” it continued.

The APC, Rivers State, then, demanded formal apologies from Wike, Fayose, Kayode to Amaechi “for this false accusation within two weeks or we may be left with no other option than to brief our lawyers accordingly.”

Meanwhile, the party challenged Governor Wike and his government to carry out their threat to sue the Federal Government if by the end of seven days the contentious huge sum was not returned to the Rivers State Government.

The party also urged the Federal Government to take the alleged continuous threat from Governor Wike against the Buhari’s administration seriously and call him to order to “avoid aborting our hard earned democracy abruptly.

The Rivers APC continued: “It is unfortunate for Wike to state that the Ikoyi $43 million was part of the proceeds of the Rivers State gas turbines sold during the administration of Amaechi, knowing very well that the money realised from the sale was duly lodged in the coffers of the Rivers State Government and budgeted accordingly.

“Nigerians can now attest that Amaechi stands as the most vilified, persecuted politician in Nigeria for his bravery, patriotism and commitment to work for a better future for our country. We remain convinced that God who has seen Amaechi this far will always safeguard him from the Wikes and Fayoses, whose favourite pastime is their obsession to plot Amaechi’s downfall,” according to the party.