Rotimi Amaechi, a former Governor of oil-rich Rivers State, has alleged that former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and his wife handed the political structure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers to other people and chased him out of the party, news.ng reports.
Amaechi disclosed this during an interview on Channels Television on Friday morning.
Recall that during the administration of President Jonathan, there was a political rift between the former Nigerian leader and Amaechi.
This news platform recalls that the former President was not comfortable with Amaechi following his emergence as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), and the two political bigwigs from the same oil-rich Niger Delta region subsequently became political enemies.
He said, “The president Goodluck and his wife chased me out and handed over the structure to other people. So, I moved with all of us who were governors. My offence was because I was chairman of the Governors’ Forum.”
Meanwhile, Amaechi, a former Minister of Transportation during the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari, also alleged that he was driven out of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to him, he left the party due to his outspokenness.
Recall that Amaechi vied for the presidential candidacy in the 2023 general elections on the platform of the APC.
“The same happened. I was chased out of APC. Then I went to ADC. But that’s not even the issue. So, let’s forget who chased who and who didn’t chase who.”
“I will never keep quiet in the face of injustice. So, when I do that, they begin to plan to make me irrelevant,” Amaechi stated.
He noted that he made efforts to rekindle his relationship with former President Jonathan, adding that there were no personal grievances between him and the former Nigerian leader.
Commenting on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former governor noted that there are many imbalances in society, saying every region should be represented to prevent dissatisfaction among some ethnic groups in the country, while doubting his ability to govern the country.
He said, “There is a balance in society. The balance is that you must protect all religious interests, all ethnic interests. And I don’t see the way the president governs Lagos that he has the capacity to govern Nigeria.
“You must allow the Igbo man to know that the Igbo man must be proud to be called a Nigerian. If you continue what you are doing currently, the Igbos will not be happy. They will continue to say they want to leave”
