The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers has hit back at the state governor, Nyesom Wike, for describing its leader and immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as a total failure who no longer has access to the Presidential Villa.
Mr Darlington Nwauju, who is the partyโs publicity secretary in Rivers, described the comments by Governor Wike against Amaechi as laughable.
He said while the former minister was not disposed to political criticisms, the party would not allow the likes of Governor Wike to demean his personality by peddling falsehood against him.
According to Nwauju, Amaechiโs performance as a minister is not an issue of debate, as the records in the public domain could attest to his excellent achievements in the Ministry of Transportation.
On the criticism by the governor that Amaechi did not attract federal infrastructures to Rivers, the APC spokesperson in Rivers responded with a PowerPoint presentation of 18 projects and human development programmes in the state, which he said were spearhead by the former minister.
He listed some of the projects include the expansion of the Afam Power Plant in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State, the ongoing rehabilitation of sections one to four of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, and the ongoing construction of the N120 billion Bodo-Bonny Road in the state.
Some other projects credited to the effort of the former minister were the new terminal at the Port Harcourt International Airport which was met halfway, completed, and commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari, and the ground-breaking for the reconstruction of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line.
Nwauju also noted the expansion of the nationโs ports and the creation of empowerment schemes through the agencies under the Ministry of Transportation, including the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), as another intervention of the former minister.
According to him, the claim that Amaechi no longer has access to the Presidential Villa is far from the truth as the former minister still has a wonderful relationship with President Buhari and does not need to be seen at the villa to prove his closeness with the first family.
