A group believed to be supportive of the senator representing Rivers South East in the National Assembly, Magnus Ngei Abe has lambasted ousted Publicity Secretary of a faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, Chris Finebone for allegedly peddling lies against the lawmaker.
The group, Kairos Media Group, in a statement by its founder, Kennedy Friday said the comments of Finebone against Abe who is a top contender for the governorship of the state as all lies.
The statement in full..
“Our attention has been drawn to a statement issued by Mr. Chris Finebone whose election as Publicity Secretary of Rivers APC has been nullified by the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction spewing fire and brimstone against a judicial officer and the court of law. The statement also attempted to retool a tired and monotonous blackmail of an imagined collaboration between Senator Magnus Abe and Governor Nyesom Wike. False and wicked as this statement is, we are not surprised it’s coming from Mr. Chris Finebone, a known peddler of falsehood.
This is the same Chris Finebone who appeared on a national television channel months ago to boast that APC would not obey a valid court Order from the same court he is blackmailing today simply because the Order went against his interest. Mr. Finebone has a track record of attacking, abusing and blackmailing the judicial institution when rulings are not in favour of the interest he projects. Thus, Nigerians cannot be taken aback by his recent tirade against the hallowed institution of justice.
What is shocking is that Mr. Chris Finebone is desecrating the judiciary on the orders of his principal, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, a man who would not have attained his present height without the Nigerian judiciary, same institution they have decided to ridicule and disobey at will today. How sad!
This same tendency and inclination to become a law unto themselves, thrive in impunity, intimidate everyone with contrary opinion, disobey lawful orders and trample on the will of the people is the very root of the challenges confronting Rivers APC today. Instead of allowing for a moment of introspection, Chris Finebone and his sponsors are scavenging everywhere looking for people to blame for the problems they themselves created.
It’s a known fact today that many state chapters of APC across the nation are mired in crisis, with many cases in court arising from same attitude demonstrated by the leader of Rivers APC to subdue the voices of the people. Are all those cases also instituted in collaboration with Governor Nyesom Wike? Was it Governor Nyesom Wike who collaborated with the Minister of Transportation to exclude thousands of Rivers APC faithful who paid money to the party to participate in the congresses? Was it Governor Wike who instructed the Minister to order security agents to open fire on innocent APC members who were protesting their exclusion from participating in the congresses? Or did the Minister collaborate with Wike by hijacking materials for APC congresses to INTELS camp in Port Harcourt away from the reach of party faithful?
It’s laughable for Chris Finebone to say that a rally organized by the APC in Rivers State was carefully planned to coincide with the judgement of the court. Chris Finebone failed to mention that Similar rallies have been held in Bori, Ahoada, and now Port-Harcourt.
It’s even petty and reprehensible to say that Senator Abe announced the exact ruling of the court on the rally rostrum just about when the judge was still reading his judgement. This is a blatant lie and infantile blackmail that is in the character of Chris Finebone to spill. I was present in court when the verdict was delivered. Long before I arrived the venue of the rally, the judgement of the court had already gone viral on the internet and radio stations in Port Harcourt had reported proceedings from the court before Senator Abe arrived the rally ground.
Abe’s integrity and reputation have gone far beyond what people like Chris Finebone can question. All across this country, Abe is known as a man of truth and character, and that is why the whole country continue to warm to him and identify with his struggle for freedom in Rivers State.
Let it be on record that the purported order of perpetual injunction which Chris Finebone claimed was obtained from an Abuja High Court, which in any case is a court of coordinate jurisdiction with the Port Harcourt High Court, was gotten through fraud and deceit and therefore cannot avail them. It is worthy of note that Mr. Tuduru Ede who was said to have appeared in that matter was also a counsel in the matter that was pending before the Port Harcourt High Court but failed to disclose this material particular to the Abuja High Court Judge. Even at that, we have never referred to the Judge as Amaechi’s Judge or to the Abuja High Court Abuja as Amaechi’s supermarket because we have respect and regard for the judicial institution.
Mr. Chris Finebone also claimed that the Port Harcourt High Court ought not to have delivered judgement in the matter because there is an appeal from the matter before the Court of Appeal. This is an extreme demonstration of legal naivety. Maybe we need to remind Chris Finebone that in four different attempts, Tuduru Ede had tried to use the Court of Appeal to stay further proceedings in the matter before the trial court but all those attempts collapsed as the Justices of the court of appeal expressly refused to grant his applications. Certified true copies of those rulings are available for public scrutiny.
To further misinform and hoodwink Nigerians, Mr. Finebone said that the primaries so far conducted in Rivers State were done by the national leadership of the APC and not essentially by the Ojukaye-led Exco. What a shortsighted argument! Can something built on nothing ever stand? Was it the National leadership of APC that also voted as delegates in the primaries?
It’s now clear that the whole orchestrated blackmail of Senator Abe has collapsed as evidenced by the huge number of Rivers APC members who defied the heavy downpour to turn out for the rally of yesterday on hearing that Senator Abe was going to be in attendance. Abe lives in the hearts of his people. He has always been with his people and it’s easy for Rivers people to identify with his struggle for truth and justice.
Chris Finebone should be creative enough to think of another blackmail because the often repeated collaboration of Abe with Governor Nyesom Wike has been seen for what it is, a blatant lie.
Chris Finebone and his sponsors are behaving like the ostrich, they bury their heads in Governor Wike’s sand but their entire body of lies and deceit is visible to the entire country. The crisis in Rivers APC began long before senator Abe’s thanksgiving to which Governor Wike along with other Governors, senators and ministers attended. The foundation of the crisis in the party is intolerance of dissenting views, impunity, high-handedness and lack of respect for others. Disregard for for all rules and laws including the constitution of the party and even orders of courts of competent jurisdiction. Until this is addressed the crisis will continue and singing Wike as a song will not change anything”.
Signed:
Mr. Kennedy Friday
Founder, Kairos Media Group
11/10/2018
