Minister of Transportation and presidential aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has declared that his loyalty to former Governor Peter Odili of Rivers State earned him his mandate as governor in 2007.
This is even as he said he remains loyal to President Muhammadu Buhari and the party remains supreme in his bid to become Nigeria’s president in 2023.
He said the fact many politicians do not understand the concept of loyalty has made them political and economic parasites to those who lead them, maintaining that the will of the one who you follow remains paramount to whatever intentions one might have in mind.
Amaechi made the assertion when he spoke during a consultative meeting with executives and party delegates at the Rivers State APC Secretariat at the weekend.
According to him, “It is sad that many politicians do not understand the concept of loyalty. Loyalty is not when you are not chosen, you become disloyal, loyalty means you follow the man that leads you, that you have surrendered to his leadership. If you don’t follow, it means you are not loyal, you are only benefitting from the man politically and economically. The day he’s not able to give you that economic reality, is the day you become disloyal.
The minister also revealed that it was actually his predecessor, Dr. Peter Odili, that asked him to go to court to reclaim his governorship mandate from Celestine Omehia in 2007.
“Let me tell you something about loyalty. In 2007, we were in a meeting and somebody asked me if Dr. Peter Odili (former Governor of Rivers State) says you will not run for the office of governor, what will you do? I said I will surrender and support whoever he brings. We fought the battle for me to be Governor because Dr. Odili called me and said ‘go to court,’ if not we had met as a group and said we would stand by his choice. But he called me and said ‘…go to court.’
“I am a very loyal person, and those who are disloyal, I wish them well, those who want to do whatever they want to do, I wish them well. The opportunity will be given to everybody, we will run this presidential election, we will run, and I am loyal to the President and I am loyal to the Party. If the party says it is me, thank God. If the party says it is not me, whoever the party chooses, I will support it. If the Party and President choose anybody, I will support the person, if the party chooses me, I will be glad and say thank God.”
The Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, Emeka Beke, in his address, assured Amaechi of the party’s support and votes in the presidential primaries.
“Sir, go home and sleep, Rivers delegates will vote for you, and I know my brothers who are statutory delegates will vote for you because all of us seated here today from Rivers State have benefitted from you, from your leadership and this is the time to pay you back. We will stand with you.”
“Let me use this opportunity to thank our brothers from other States, who have stood by our leader Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, I thank all of you. God Almighty will stand with you as you have chosen to stand by him.
“But one thing I will tell you is that our leader is a man of one word. When he says yes, his yes is yes, when he says no, his no is no, and I know that he’s a man that will not forget all of you that stood by him. By the grace of God you will be the presidential flag bearer, I will be the chairman that will produce Mr. President, I will be the Chairman that will produce Governor of Rivers State,” he said.
