APC leaders postpone Rivers visit, meet Amaechi Tuesday punchng/news/apc-leaders-postpone-rivers-visit-meet-amaechi-tuesday/ THOUSANDS of All Progressives Congress supporters that streamed to the Port Harcourt International Airport and the Rivers State Government House left in disappointment after learning that the national leadership of the opposition had put off their planned visit to Rivers State on Monday. It was gathered that the APC leaders’ visit to the state, which had been rescheduled to Tuesday (today), was postponed as a result of logistic challenges. The leadership of the APC, including a former Head of State, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, were expected in Port Harcourt on Monday to woo Governor Rotimi Amaechi to join the party. A large crowd had converged on the Government House as early as 7am to receive the bigwigs of the opposition party, a development that caused a heavy traffic along the popular Azikiwe Road in the state capital. The situation was replicated at the airport where many people, who were mostly youths and women, sat for several hours waiting to no avail for the arrival of the APC national leaders. But the crowd at the airport and Government House began to disperse at about 3pm when information trickled in that the party dignitaries would no longer be in Port Harcourt. It was learnt that the national leaders of the APC decided to reschedule their visit because their earlier plan to visit Port Harcourt on Monday coincided with the travelling arrangement of the President’s wife, Mrs. Patience Jonathan. Mrs. Jonathan was billed to travel back to Abuja from Port Harcourt after the burial of her stepmother, late Mrs. Charity Oba, on Friday. However, the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, attributed the inability of the APC leaders to show up in Port Harcourt to coordination and logistic problems. One of the APC supporters, who identified himself as Tonye Benson, told our correspondent that though he had spent more than seven hours waiting for Buhari and Tinubu, it would not deter him from visiting the Government House on Tuesday (today). According to Benson, who is a businessman, “We have been here since 7am and waited for the leaders of APC. We learnt that they could not come for some reasons. “But since Buhari and Tinubu will be here tomorrow (Tuesday), I will come here (Government House) again to hear what they have for us as far as 2015 election is concerned.” Also, the Chief of Staff, Government House, Chief Tony Okocha, told The PUNCH in a telephone interview that the APC national leaders put off the visit to Rivers State to show respect for the President’s wife, who was billed to travel through the Port International Airport same day. Okocha assured that the level turnout by Amaechi supporters at the airport and Government House would be doubled on Tuesday (today) when Buhari, Tinubu and other APC national leaders eventually visit the state. “Nothing went wrong with the arrangement. The national leaders of the APC were showing respect for the First Lady who was expected to travel through the airport and you know that it also has to do with the airspace. “The number of people that turned out to receive the national leaders of APC in Rivers will double on Tuesday because some of them got wind of the planned visit late and will be ready to come tomorrow. “The turnout today is to let the world know that Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is still in charge in River State,” Okocha added. Earlier, the lawmaker representing Rivers South East in the National Assembly, Senator Magnus Abe, said that nobody would enslave or intimidate the people of the state. Making a veiled reference to the allegations by the State Peoples Democratic Party that the current administration in the state had received over a trillion as allocation, Abe said, “They have told you what Rivers State earns which is correct and on the net. Have they told you what accrues to the FG?” Meanwhile, the PDP in Rivers State has described APC’s rescheduled visit to the state as a waste of state resources. “The postponed visit of the APC leaders to Rivers State is another waste of state resources by Governor Amaechi. The governor should channel tax payers’ money to productive ventures than engaging in political jamborees.”
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 06:57:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015