ROTIMI AMEACHI AND THE RIVERS ANGELS

Before I begin my article, let me remind you  that Rivers Angels is the name of a Portharcout based female football club; the former club of the Super Falcons and Liverpool player, Asisat Oshoala. However, the Rivers Angels here are not the football ones but the political angels.

Rotimi Chibuike Ameach is one politician that needs little or no introduction on the Nigerian political arena. This is largely due to

the controversies that polarized his tenure as the Rivers state governor. The second reason is his relay run in elective position since the return of democracy in 1999. He was a speaker of the Rivers state house of Assembly from 1999 to 2007 and then governor from 2007 to 2015. A strong opponent of former president Goodluck Jonathan, Rotimi Ameachi spent his last tenure as governor fighting the federal government and everybody he perceived to be aligned to the former president. The beginning of the end came when he decamped from the then ruling party, PDP to the All Progressives Congress.

That move drew the battle line between him [Ameachi] and the Goodluck lead Federal Government. All Federal government agencies in the state became his enemies,   notably, the Rivers state police command which was led by the then commissioner for police, Mbu C. Mbu. But then Ameachi fought dirty, took the presidency to the cleaners and ensured that the name Goodluck Jonathan became synonymous with oppression and intimidation. As the battle created publicity for Ameachi, it equally increased the list of his enemies; notably among them was and is Barrister Nyesom Wike, a former Chief of staff to Ameachi, and a self professed disciple of the former First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan.

As we headed for the 2015 general elections, the fight was now openly between Wike and Ameachi. The reasons for this were not far fetch as Wike was vying to succeed Ameachi as the rivers state governor against an Ameachi anointed candidate, Dakuku Peterside. Ameachi as the Director General of the Buhari campaign organization ensured that Buhari and the APC made inroads into the Niger Delta. Buhari defeated Jonathan in the presidential elections but unfortunately for Ameachi, Wike defeated his candidate, Dakuku Peterside in the governorship election and all the APC candidates in the senatorial elections lost to the PDP.

 Now, Buhari, Ameachi’s backbone is the president but Wike, his arch enemy is the governor with all the political structures in the state under his [Wike] feet. Predictably, since taking over the drivers seat in Portharcourt, Nyesom wike has been firing from all cylinders hoping to pay back Ameachi in his own coin. The ultimate aim being to prevent Ameachi from being appointed as a minister by president Buhari. Knowing fully well how the president despise politicians with allegations of corruption hanging over their necks, Wike inaugurated committees, including a commission of enquiry to probe the administration of Rotimi Ameach with the hope of exposing the skeletons in his cupboard for the president to see that Ameachi is far from the Angel that he claims to be.

Turning deaf ears to the countless allegations of corruption that the Rivers state government had raised against Ameachi, the president included his name in the ministerial list that he sent to the national assembly. Immediately the senate president, Bukola saraki read out Ameachi’s name, petitions and protests started flooding the national assembly against his nomination. To add salt to injury, the senate after a closed door meeting on Thursday  announced that before any of the nominees will be screened he/she must have the support of at least two senators from his state. It will interest you to know that all the three senators from Rivers state are from the PDP, and on the same page with the rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike. It will also interest you to know that to Ameachi, Wike is a devil while he Ameachi is an Angel and a saint. Wike also sees Ameachi as a devil while he Wike is an Angel and saint. So now that it is obvious that Wike and the three senators from the state are strongly against Ameachi’s nomination, what will be his fate as the senate is set to commence the screening of ministerial nominees on Tuesday next week.  Will Ameachi humble himself before governor Wike and the three Angels in order to buy their spport, or will he remain an angel and allow the devils to do their wish or go to hell? Your guess is as good as mine. However, one thing that is certain is that at the end of the road, we’ll surely know who the Rivers’ state devils are and who the Rivers’ state Angels are.